The Change You Wish to See
by mistyhollowdrummer
Summary: Levi has never put much care into things, especially things that don't peak his interest. It's genuinely hard to find something that he could like, so when he meets Eren Jaeger, a nineteen year old college student who just happens to be deaf, he wonders what it is that makes the kid so interesting. Warning: Massive cuddles and feels that'll make you wish for a therapist. Rated T-M
1. We Meet

**A/N: And let's give Lady Mari Chan a big thank you for proof reading this with a phone~ XD Seriously though. Don't forget to thank her. :3**

**Alright everyone! Welcome to my new Ereri (Riren no one cares -_-') fanfic! I'm really nervous for this one, because everyone really liked my last fanfic. I just hope you can all enjoy this one as well. ^^ I also feel that, but I'm not entirely sure of it, this fanfic is a bit of a slow build. While the last fanfic was meant for massive amounts of humor (and lots of painful feels, terribly not sorry), this is more of cutes and cuddles that'll make you fangasm and need tissues for your bloody noses and tears... At least this is what I hope to achieve. XD But do not fret!You will get your yaoi. XD**

**-Misty**

**Song of the day: I'm in Love**

**By: Secret (Let's pick a song that will make you laugh at the idiocy of this. XD)**

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**The Change You Wish to See****  
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**(Original summary, but screw the stupid character limits) Levi's never put much care into things. He doesn't put much care into things **_**at all**_**. Nothing ever peaks his interest. Well, that's until he meets Eren Jaeger. Levi isn't sure what it is that's so interesting about him, and it irritates him to feel these feelings he's never felt before. Regardless, he goes to talk to the boy. When he doesn't receive an answer, he just thinks that the boy is rude; however, he understands why when Eren doesn't answer him. Eren is deaf.****  
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**Rated M for sexual content, adult language, some violence, mild character death****  
****Main pairing: Riren with some side pairs****  
****Anime: Shingeki No Kyojin (Attack on Titan) ****  
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**Chapter One:**

**We Meet**

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"Oh Levi!" Levi groaned and dropped his head into his hand. It was too early in the morning for this, for _any_ of this. He didn't need to be up at eleven in the morning. He didn't need to be at a book store at eleven in the morning. He didn't need Hanji yelling in his ear at eleven in the morning. He seriously didn't need any of it at eleven in the morning.

"I'm right here, so stop yelling..." Levi growled into his hand. Hanji appeared from a hallway of books, a stack of thick books already in her arms and blocking most of her vision. She stepped over to the counter where Levi sat at and set them down, making the glass shake in an obscene way that made Levi step back for fear of it shattering. "What the fuck..." He grumbled with a pointed glare in her direction.

"Sorry, I'm just so excited!"

"There's a difference between your usual excitement and now?" Levi asked as he pulled one of the books from the top of the stack down to see it. He cursed himself for being so short, because he had no choice but to stand on his tip toes in front of the women. She always had a knowing look on her face whenever she saw it, a smug look to be more precise, and he hated it. When he got the book and looked at her, she was grinning behind the nozzle of her water bottle, that knowing look behind her big and funny glasses that he hated with all of his heart. He assumed this was her revenge for the joke he made just moments before. "Shut up."

"I didn't say anything." Hanji hummed and shrugged her shoulders. Levi rolled his eyes before looking over the book.

"_On the Shoulders of Giants..._" Levi read the title out loud. "Someone actually wants to read this book?"

"Well if you've read it, then that means something." Hanji pointed out while adjusting her crooked glasses on her face.

"I read it because there's nothing to do. Barely anyone comes in here." Levi muttered and set the book down. "I've read almost everything in this place," He added and then looked at the other books lined up in front of him. All of them were geography books, educational books about the ocean, or books of animals. Levi scoffed.

"What...? Don't like someone's pick in books?" Hanji asked.

"I couldn't give less than a shit about what you read. Now would you put those away?" Levi asked, or rather he demanded.

"Nope," Hanji replied while patting some dust off of a book.

"Excuse me? Hanji, I'm your boss now, not a friend. I'm not your friend until we get out of work, so do what I say and put those away." Levi commanded while fisting his hands and grinding his teeth. It was always astounding how Hanji knew how to get under his skin in mere seconds.

"Can't," Hanji replied.

"Why not?"

"Because someone called to check out all of these books," She said and looked at her nails.

"Why didn't you just tell me that then?"

"Because I love to mess with you." Hanji said and grinned. Levi groaned to himself and rubbed at the bridge of his nose. Why did he hire Hanji again? Oh yeah, she needed a job and he didn't want to do this on his own.

"Fine, _fine._ I don't even care." Levi muttered and tossed his hands in the air, a sign of defeat. Hanji audibly laughed, and Levi would have yelled at her and told her to be quiet if the store wasn't empty. Like he said before, no one ever came here. It was a rare occurrence whenever someone did, maybe once or twice a day. That's why Levi liked the job, and "liked" was used lightly.

It was quiet, and no one was there to bug him, well, that was until Hanji got there. It was just him by himself, totally alone and free to relax. It was an easy job with minimal pay, which he was completely fine with. He lived by himself in a small, rundown apartment in a shitty apartment building. It wasn't the best, but it wasn't the worst, and he was fine with that.

So, whenever someone did walk into the store, he questioned why. He never personally asked them of course. He'd let them go about their business, and most of the time they left with one or two books. Some left with none. Levi seriously questioned those people. He assumed that they stole books by hiding them under their shirts or in their backpacks, but he didn't care. He wasn't the owner, he was just there to keep the place clean and sell books.

Whenever someone did come in though, he would sometimes scowl… Well, scowl more than usual. He was busy reading most of the time, that or cleaning up the dust that seemed to accumulate more than oxygen, and he didn't like being interrupted. Now he had to deal with Hanji all day, a woman he had known since high school, regretfully he'd add. He wanted peace and quiet, and with her here he wouldn't get that.

He'd get the daily buzz of life from a woman who had the energy of a six year old with a serious sugar rush, and it was going to be like that every day until she either quit, was fired, _he_ quit, _he_ was fired, or until he died. He expected the very last option, because she would surely talk him to death.

Well, at least things would be interesting. At least that was what he hoped for. It wouldn't kill him to get something else in during the day, though she might with her boundless energy. His only break from her would probably be one of those rare occasions where someone actually came in and needed help finding something, something similar to this exact moment.

The bell at the front door rang, signaling someone's entry. Hanji managed to tame herself into small giggles as they waited for whomever it was to show up to the counter. Levi simply leaned against the glass counter, careless as to whom it was. He distantly thought that his appearance for the store was what made people stop coming, but he ignored it. People needed to stop judging a book by its cover.

No pun intended.

Finally, a boy found his way to the counter in the maze that was his book store. Levi only glanced up once to see who it was, and found nothing out of the ordinary with the kid. The kid couldn't have been anything more than fifteen at the best, but what did Levi know? People often mistook him for a teenager when, in reality, he was thirty four years old.

He wasn't distant to confusion.

He wore a rather big backpack on his back, and Levi knew he'd have to keep an eye on him. He didn't really care what was stolen from the store, but he didn't like having his boss yell in his ear. He had on a green, short sleeved shirt that had laces at the collar, showing off well defined muscles in his arms. His pants were standard blue jeans, and his shoes were normal converse sneakers. Out of everything about him, there wasn't much out of the ordinary. The only thing he could say looked odd about the kid (And yes, he was a kid) were his gold eyes. They were probably the most striking feature on him, accentuating his head of brunette hair and tan skin.

"Can we help you find anything?" Hanji asked. Levi rolled his eyes. It wasn't obvious, but he was ecstatic to have found someone else who wanted to do his job for him. It made his days at the store a whole lot easier.

The boy looked at Hanji and smiled. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, folded up piece of paper. He held it out to her silently, letting Hanji take it so she could read it over. Levi looked at her, watching her mutter the words written on the paper.

"… Ohh I see! Well Mr. Jaeger, your books are right here!" She chirped with enthusiasm as she motioned to the stack of books sitting beside Levi. The kid smiled and nodded his head before reaching out to take them. He pulled them against his chest, grunting when he realized that the six books were heavier than they looked.

"You want help with those?" Levi asked in a bored tone. The kid seemed to ignore him, turning to the other direction where the tables and chairs were and leaving to take a seat at them. Levi was left with his mouth slightly open, hoping for an answer. He never got one.

"What a cute kid," Hanji mumbled.

"What a little prick." Levi growled.

"What…?"

"The little shit just ignored me." He huffed with irritation. If there was one thing Levi hated (One thing in the long list of things he hated), it would be that he hated being ignored. It took a lot to get Levi to talk, and he wanted a reason to if he was going to open his mouth.

"You don't know that, Levi. He may have not heard you." Hanji assured.

"Bullshit. I couldn't get any louder." It pissed him off to no end.

"You tend to mumble." The women said and fixed her glasses to sit on her forehead. "Maybe he's just hard of hearing."

"Well then why didn't he have trouble hearing you?" Levi asked.

"Because I don't talk, I bellow." Hanji seemed rather proud of herself at the obvious fact that she stated. Levi growled and looked away, as if the books on the shelves were more interesting than she was, though he wasn't so sure. Hanji could be a definite handful when she wanted to be. "Does it upset you that much that he didn't pay any attention to you?"

"Of course not," He grumbled.

"You are about as convincing as a child who's guilty of taking cookies from a cookie jar." Hanji muttered. She had been right though; even with a low tone, she was still rather loud.

"Whatever…"

"Levi, if it bothers you that much, just try again." Hanji addressed. "Go up and ask if he needs anything. Just play nice. He may not have heard you, and then you'll feel better knowing that." She assured and patted Levi's shoulder. The man looked at her from the corner of his eyes, or maybe he glared. He was trying to intimidate her for sure, but it didn't seem to work.

It took a lot to make Hanji feel offended… Or upset… Or mad… It was fucking _difficult._

"I must be out of my mind…" Levi mumbled to himself before leaving the confines of the counter.

He felt so stupid right now, stupid and dumbfounded. Why was he doing this? Why did he even care? People had easily ignored him before, and he never cared for any of them. Why was this kid any different? Maybe it was because that the kid was just a kid. Maybe it was because he was young, and it bugged Levi that kids these days had manners about the size of their attention spans.

He would tell himself that, but he only hoped that this was the real reason. If not, he had no other excuses.

Levi sighed to himself as he walked over to the boy. The kid was fully engrossed in the book he was reading, the one Levi had previously stated was a boring ass book. Why the kid liked it, he'd never know. Why the kid decided to get six different books, all rather thick and boring, he'd never know either. Instead, he decided to try what Hanji said. Levi stood up straight while clearing his throat, hoping to just catch the kid's attention.

"Uh, is there anything you need?" He asked, making sure his voice was loud enough. It surely wasn't as loud as Hanji's, but no one's voice was as loud as hers. He could only get so loud. However, the boy remained quiet, eyes focused solely on his book. Levi's frown got deeper. He tried again.

"Do you want some water or… Or more light or something?" Levi asked. Again no answer. This was really starting to piss him off. "Kid…?" One last time, and _again_, no answer.

That was the final straw.

"Alright, that's it!" Levi barked and kicked the side of the boy's chair, effectively knocking him out of it. He tumbled to the floor and cried out at impact, one of his books falling from the table and smacking into his leg.

"Levi!" Hanji cried from where she stood, but she wasn't close enough to stop Levi as he picked up the kid by the collar of his shirt.

"Listen you! I don't know what your deal is with me, but when someone wants to play nice, try it! You're going to get your ass chewed out by the world if you don't try acting like you give a damn about what someone does for you!" Levi yelled. Hanji came up from behind him and pulled Levi away, freeing the kid from his grasp.

"Levi, stop!" She tried to yell over him. The boy crawled away on all fours before turning to face the two. Hanji saw the look of mortification on his face, and tried to stop Levi, but when he got in one of these moods, it was hard to calm him down. She would know. She'd gotten him this mad once, and he went off on her like no one's business.

"You didn't even thank Hanji for lugging around your damn books! I don't care what you think of me, but treat people with some damn respect, you little shit!" It took all of Hanji's strength to get some distance between Levi and the kid. The poor thing didn't need to deal with this, and if he continued to keep quiet, Levi would surely do something he'd regret.

"Stop it! Levi, back off!" Hanji used her remaining strength to throw Levi in an opposite direction, putting more distance between the two. Levi finally stopped fighting, but he was still fuming with anger.

"What the fuck are you still quiet for? You don't have anything to say, anything at all?" Levi asked. Hanji looked back to the boy he was yelling at, ready to apologize for his behavior, but she only found the look of anger written across his face. The boy looked just as angry, and she could tell he was obviously upset by the tears lining his eyes.

"Mr. Jaeger, I'm so sorry. H-He's just upset. He really didn't mean anything by it." Hanji once again excused his behavior. The boy said nothing, and it wasn't surprising to Levi. He stood, and he reached into his backpack that had been resting against the table, undisturbed by the commotion that just occurred. He pulled out a pen and a notebook before opening it and frantically writing in it.

"Sir…?" Hanji called out to him. The boy folded his notebook back, and daringly, possibly even in an act of stupidity, he chucked it at Levi. Levi caught it after the thing smacked into his chest, and he opened his mouth, prepared to yell, but the boy spoke first.

"Read!" He yelled. Levi noticed the terrible undertone that he possessed, as if his nose was terribly congested. _"Read!"_ He yelled again and pointed to the notebook. Levi growled before pulling the notebook back and looking at the neat handwriting inside.

"_I can't hear you, dumbass!" _It read in big and bold letters.

"What do you mean you can't hear me? And who are you calling a dumb-" Levi growled, but he stopped. The words seemed to click in his head, and he looked back down at the words written in the notebook.

Now it all made sense. The kid standing before him wasn't being rude; he wasn't even trying. The reasons as to why he never thanked Hanji, why he never responded to Levi or his acts of "kindness" were because he couldn't hear either of them, not because he was trying to be rude.

He was deaf.

"Oh…" Levi mumbled. _"I really am a dumbass…"_ He distantly thought. The brunette stomped forward and yanked his notebook back from him before shoving it back into his book bag.

"W-Wait," Hanji began.

"Don't bother. He can't hear you." Levi said while looking down.

"He can't… _Oh…_" Hanji finally realized what this was all about. She stepped forward, grabbing the boys shoulder to stop him from leaving. The boy cried out at the touch, but Hanji silenced him by waving her hand in front of his face. He looked at her, his big eyes red and glassy before she began signing to him.

This was a new fact, even for Levi. He was completely unaware that Hanji knew sign language, but he guessed that it came as a good thing now. Once again, Hanji wasn't going to pull Levi out of a mess he'd created, and hopefully things could be fixed, because who was he to mess with someone who couldn't hear? He may have been a regular asshole, but he would never go so far as to mess with someone with a disability.

"No, no," Hanji murmured softly and continued to sign to him. The boy made a face of disgust, but she made it go away. She motioned to Levi a few times, once to herself, and then back to him again. It really irritated him that he couldn't understand what Hanji or him were discussing.

He only ever knew one or two hand signals, one for "I'm sorry," And the other for "Thank you." He knew these from a children's TV show he saw when he was a kid, and that was it. However, it was something. He recognized Hanji apologizing to him over again by rubbing her fist over her chest to him. The boy kept shaking his head, but after a while, he stopped. Hanji motioned towards Levi again, and this time she addressed him.

"Levi, apologize to Eren." This wasn't a suggestion; Hanji was downright commanding him to do it. Since when had she become the boss? It didn't seem to matter right now. When the boy, Eren, looked up at Levi with broken and defeated eyes, Levi felt a gust of guilt hit him fast. Eren had such puppy-like eyes, and who could possibly be mad at a face like that?

"I'm sorry…" Levi said while rubbing his hand over his chest. He wasn't even sure if he was doing it right; he was just imitating what Hanji had done, and what he remembered from TV, but it was something. At least he was trying.

Eren looked away, golden eyes adverted to the floor. He quietly sighed under his breath before he signed something Levi didn't understand. Thankfully, Hanji was there to translate what he said.

"He said it's okay." Hanji translated. Levi nodded wordlessly and looked away. He bent down and picked up the book he had knocked down when he kicked Eren away, and he held it out for him.

"Here…" He mumbled. He wasn't sure why he was even trying to talk. The kid couldn't hear him, so why bother?

"Thank you…" Again Eren spoke with his eyes averted to the floor, but it sounded morphed coming from him. It must have been because he couldn't hear himself, and he was unaware that he was saying it wrong. Regardless, Eren took his notebook back, his fingers barely brushing against Levi's in the process. Levi cleared his throat and looked away, only to glare at Hanji.

He was hoping that she would do something to lighten the tension, but she seemed perfectly content on letting the two live in their own little worlds of self-pity.

Without help from her, Levi picked up the fallen chair and set it back by the table before storming off and leaving to go to the office. This left Hanji and Eren alone, but Hanji helped Eren back into his seat and told him that she'd get him a cup of water before leaving to follow Levi. When she found him, Levi was indeed in the office, sitting in the chair to his desk with his head in his hands.

"Are you out of your Goddamn mind?" She asked him in anger, and it was hard to make Hanji angry. Just knowing that he had done it, that he was able to mess with those happy, dumb smiles of hers was surprising and nerving all on its own.

"I'm sorry…"

"How could you go off on someone who is deaf?" She asked, though she kept her voice low. Why he wouldn't know. The boy outside could hear them, even if they were talking with megaphones.

"You think I would have had I known?" Levi looked up and asked. "I wouldn't have gone after him had I known it."

"You shouldn't be going after people in general!" Hanji reprimanded. "You're lucky he's not pressing charges against you."

"I said I was sorry."

"After I apologized for you first. I tried saying that you were just defending me, but he barely believed me on that. He didn't, and probably still _doesn't _believe me when I said that you are a nice guy."

"That's a bunch of shit and you know it." Levi scoffed with a bitter smirk. Hanji sighed and pushed her glasses up onto her head so she could rub her eyes.

"Levi, _please,_ just behave." She pleaded with him.

"Whatever…" Levi uttered like a child before poking at a book sitting at the edge of his desk. He pulled it closer to himself before opening it and looking inside, only pretending to read it. He wanted Hanji to go away, so he could have a moment alone to think about what just happened, and it worked. After a few moments of silence and his obvious ignoring of her, she left the room with a sigh. He then sighed when the door to his office shut. He knew he was pushing her away, but he did it to everyone, and he did it on purpose.

He was better off alone.

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**A/N: I'd like to point out really quick, since you'll see it a lot in the fanfic. Italics will be on words where Eren or others are writing in a notebook or on a piece of paper, or when someone is signing. I'd just like to clear that up. ^^ I'm not entirely gifted with the ability to speak sign language, so I apologize in advance for any mistakes as well. I'm learning though! :D**

**Alright! See you all soon! :D**


	2. Meet My Family

**A/N: Wahhh! You guys~! The response from the first chapter was too kind! *Sniffles* I love you guys, I really do. And I saw lots of names from my previous story, which makes me even happier! You guys have no idea! *jumps off of bed***

**Wah! Such a busy few weeks. I become a senior next week! Yay~! And less than three weeks until I'm in San Francisco for Yaoi Con~! Cosplay projects, masquerade preparations, make up projects, and school... Someone save me. XD**

**Let's give another big thanks to Lady Mari Chan for her hard work as my beta reader! I know I can be really annoying, so it's a difficult job. XD**

**-Misty**

**Song of the day: Ain't Nobody**

**By: Yenny**

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**The Change You Wish to See****  
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**(Original summary, but screw the stupid character limits) Levi's never put much care into things. He doesn't put much care into things **_**at all**_**. Nothing ever peaks his interest. Well, that's until he meets Eren Jaeger. Levi isn't sure what it is that's so interesting about him, and it irritates him to feel these feelings he's never felt before. Regardless, he goes to talk to the boy. When he doesn't receive an answer, he just thinks that the boy is rude; however, he understands why when Eren doesn't answer him. Eren is deaf.****  
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**Rated M for sexual content, adult language, some violence, mile character death****  
****Main pairing: Riren with some side pairs****  
****Anime: Shingeki No Kyojin (Attack on Titan) ****  
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**Chapter Two:**

**Meet My Family**

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After that, Eren Jaeger had come to Levi's book store for two days, and he was always alone. He never asked for anything extra other than the books he wanted, and every day, he'd stay for a few hours and read his books before leaving, sometimes taking one or two with him, sometimes not. He always arrived at twelve, contrary to his first day there, and he always left at four, which Levi considered odd, but it was none of his business anyway. The kid had his own agenda to live out.

So, on the third day, after some poking and prodding from Hanji (and incessant amount that made him nearly tare his hair out), she finally convinced Levi to talk to Eren Jaeger. Of course, after their first encounter, Levi hadn't bothered to try talking to Eren at all, or even write down what it was he wanted to say. Eren didn't try either, and he didn't care. However, something did bug him, and that was whenever he talked to Hanj.

He had no idea what the two could be saying, whether it was something good or bad and who it was about. They could have been joking about Levi right in front of him and he wouldn't have even known. Hanji wasn't good at hiding lies of course, so he would have known eventually if they had said something bad abuot him, but if they talked about him in a way that wasn't horrifyingly graphic, well then he'd never know.

When they laughed, he was irritated. When Eren whined, he was irritated. When Hanji pointed to Levi and then Eren laughed, he was irritated to no end.

When Eren smiled, he was upset. Why? He wasn't sure. Something about that smile made him upset, and that was it.

He wasn't at all enthusiastic about it, not after what happened when they met, and he was positive that Eren wouldn't be happy about it either, but she wouldn't stop pushing ice down his shirt until he did. For anyone, after sixteen cubes of ice go down their shirt, they tend to give in.

So now he'd figure out some things. He'd try to be nice this time around though, and he'd try to fix what he previously fucked up. Why he even wanted to play nice with the kid was beyond him, but it didn't matter. He couldn't sleep at night with this hanging over his head, and God knows he needed his sleep with a job like his that required a lot of reading.

So Levi just sucked it up and walked over to the boy. He was at his previous table, the one he sat at every day, and had his head in a dictionary. A dictionary? Yes, a dictionary. The kid was seriously weird. Levi thought that at first, but then he realized that Eren had his head in it because he was looking for a word he didn't understand in another book.

Levi felt Eren's words coming back to him. He couldn't have been that much of a dumbass as Eren so politely put it.

Levi knew talking wouldn't catch the kid's attention, so he simply sat down beside him in an empty chair at the table. He looked over to him, and Eren's golden eyes slowly lifted from the book to meet his. The brunette looked back down into his book for a moment, and then looked back up, as if waiting for something from the older man.

What could Levi possibly do? He couldn't talk to the kid, as far as he knew anyway. All he was doing, all he _could_ do, was sit there and watch the kid who was staring at him with a mixture of confusion and annoyance.

"Hm...?" Eren sounded out quietly.

"So can you hear certain things, or are you just totally deaf?" Levi asked despite himself. After a quiet pause, when Eren reached into his book bag and pulled out his notebook, Levi got his answer. Eren handed Levi his notebook, along with a pen, and Levi stared at the page already presented to him. There were words already written down on the page, words he couldn't help but read.

_"No, the verb is the action. Running is an action. It's the adjective that describes something, whether it's the noun or verb. Pink is an adjective, so "The pink cat was running." The adjective pink describes the cat."_

_"Why would a cat be pink?"_

_"Seriously, Eren? You're such a dork."_

_"You're the dork. You couldn't find your glasses two minutes ago and they were on your face."_

Eren's hand suddenly covered up the page, stopping Levi from continuing his snooping. Eren turned the page for him, giving him a fresh page to look at, and one without words. Eren took the pen back from Levi and wrote down on the blank page.

_"What do you want?"_ The paper now said. Levi took the pen that was offered to him and wrote down what he needed to say just a space below the words.

_"To talk... But that's kind of redundant, isn't it?" _He wrote down. He showed it to Eren, and the boy sneered at the sentence. He set the notebook down on the table and pulled another pen from his book bag, which he used and began writing down in his notebook.

_"You're an ass."_ Levi read, and he faintly smirked. The kid had a certain spunk to him that he liked. It wasn't often when someone would battle him in wits, minus Hanji, but Hanji was a special case.

_"You're still a little shit."_ He wrote down.

"_Is that what you were calling me a few days ago?"_

"_Yep."_ This time Eren chuckled a little and looked back at his book. This gave Levi the time to write down a question. He tapped at Eren's shoulder, getting his attention before showing him the words on the page. _"You've talked before. Can you talk, or can you say a few words?"_ He asked, and Eren replied in the notebook.

_"I can still talk, I just don't know if I'm saying things right or not. I try not to talk, because I've been told I sound weird when I do."_ Levi frowned at the words.

_"Who told you that?"_

_"Just about everyone outside of my family and friends... No, even some friends say it too."_

_"Well they're stupid. You sound more congested than you do weird."_ Levi sat back as Eren read over the words.

"Thanks..." Eren said out loud. Levi leaned forward and wrote in the notebook.

"_So you can't hear a person reply either, right?"_

"No..." Eren mumbled and shook his head. "I can't... Hear things..." He tried. Levi noticed the frustration written on his face before he went right back to writing. _"I can feel vibrations though."_ He wrote down.

_"Vibrations?"_

_"Like loud music that shakes a house, or if I'm sleeping on someone, I can feel their breathing or their heartbeat. I can imagine what those things sound like through the vibrations."_

_"Do you sleep on people often?" _Levi asked and smirked. Eren rolled his eyes before replying.

_"I only ever do it to my sister or my friend, more so him than her for obvious reasons."_

_"And he lets you?"_

_"Of course he does. I'd do the same thing for him if this was his situation." _Levi looked at Eren's face, noticing the pain that showed in his golden eyes. It was obvious that this was getting to be too much for the kid to talk about. It was something he wasn't comfortable with, and Levi would respect that. So with that, he turned to a fresh page and began writing again.

_"So, if you know how to talk, does that mean you were born with your hearing?" _Levi asked, although he regretted it. This didn't seem any better than what they were talking about before.

_"Yeah, I lost my hearing when I was nine."_

_"Would you care if I asked how?"_ Levi asked and watched Eren's face. He seemed to be going through the pros and cons to the idea, but he still didn't seem comfortable to continue. _"You don't have to answer that." _The older man added afterwards.

_"I was in an accident, that's all."_ Eren set his pen down, and Levi took that as a sign that he didn't want to continue on any conversation. Levi set his own pen down and motioned for Eren to look his way. The kid did, and Levi signed his apology for him, hoping that he could make it up to the kid. Eren smiled, but Levi could see the bitterness behind those eyes before Eren was grabbing at his pen again.

_"Your sign language sucks."_ He wrote down in his notebook.

_"How can my sign language suck? I'm not even talking."_ Levi wrote.

_"You're keeping your thumb tucked in, and it's supposed to stick out."_ Eren motioned for Levi to look his way. When he did, Eren pointed to Levi and signed the apology. He then pointed to himself and did the same, with the only exception of having his thumb stick out.

It was a simply explanation. "You're doing this, and you're supposed to do this."

"Alright, I get it." Levi muttered to himself. In the dense quiet that soon followed after, a soft vibration was heard. Eren felt it instead of hearing it, and he reached into his book bag to pull out his phone. Levi didn't see the caller ID; however, Eren's eyes looked at it with a dull look. He waited, and Levi watched as he waited for the call to end. When it did, Eren flipped the vibrate option off and turned the volume down low on the ringer.

He then sighed as he set his phone down on the table and looked back at his book, as if questioning if the conversation was over. Levi simply waved him off before standing and pushing his chair back in to give the kid his peace. Levi walked back over to the counter where Hanji was waiting, a grin spreading her cheeks wide to the point where it looked painful.

"That looked civil." She stated kindly. "He got you to smile and everything."

"We just talked." Levi muttered and looked back at Eren. Levi heard the soft playing of his ringtone; obviously someone was trying to get ahold of him, and obviously Eren was ignoring them. That's probably why he put his ringer on, so he intentionally couldn't hear it.

"He's kinda cute too. You got the hots for him?" Hanji questioned. Levi could practically hear the smirk on her lips and the condescending tone in her voice.

"You're sick, you know that?" Levi growled.

"What...? There's nothing wrong with an innocent date." The women said in a simple manner.

"He's twelve."

"Oh he's older than that." Hanji said.

"How would you know?"

"Because when he checked out his books a few days ago, I got him a library card. He's nineteen, if you're curious. Makes it legal for you two."

"Stop it," Levi growled at her.

* * *

For the first time in the three days he'd come to the store, Eren stayed late. It was six-fifteen when someone actually came in looking for him. Actually, it was two people, a girl and a boy. The girl was frantic, her black hair a little messy and disheveled, her cheeks red and her breath bated. The boy standing behind her was panicked, but as soon as they walked in, his big, blue eyes fell to the hundreds of books around him. He was in awe, and the panic was gone.

"Excuse me," The girl called out to Levi. He lifted his head from his book and looked at the teen with a bored expression.

"Yeah...?" The girl walked up to him and set her keys down.

"I-I'm looking for my brother, Eren Jaeger. He sent my friend a text saying he was here." Even her tone was frantic, as if she'd just run ten miles to get here. Hopefully that wasn't the case, and guessing by the keys, it probably wasn't.

"He's over there." Levi said and pointed to Eren still sitting at the table. The girl looked over to him, and she sighed in utter relief at the sight of him.

"Eren," She groaned and walked up to him. Levi hoped that the girl knew Eren was deaf, because calling out to him wasn't going to get his attention. "Eren!" She called out and shook his shoulder.

Eren jumped out of his book and looked up at her, surprised by the sight of her. When his eyes found hers, a look of fear showed on his boyish features.

"Mikasa..." He muttered.

"What are you doing here?" Mikasa asked and signed at the same time. "You're supposed to be home." Eren signed, but for his lack of hearing, he didn't speak like her. "Armin told me where you were. Armin!"

The boy who had been browsing books put the one he was reading away at the sound of her voice. He followed her voice to the two of them, and Eren was obviously upset with him.

"Armin..." He whined and signed something Levi couldn't read.

"I'm sorry, Eren. She didn't know where you were; she was scared." Armin signed. "I know I promised, but she threatened to burn my books if I didn't tell her."

Well, that explained why Eren liked books. If the boy, Armin, shared the same love for them, Levi could understand why.

"Why didn't you answer your phone when I called you?" Mikasa asked. Eren shrugged his shoulders and looked at his phone sitting on the table. His sister picked it up and looked at it, only to find her answer.

"You idiot, your ringer is on." She reprimanded.

"That little sneak..." Levi mumbled to himself. Mikasa honestly thought that it was an accident that his ringer was on, when the truth was that Eren simply turned it on to ignore her phone calls. He was a kid, sure, but he was quite the little minx when he wanted to be.

"Eren, you aren't doing this every day, are you?" His sister asked. "Don't lie to me, do you understand me?" She went so far as to cup his jaw in her hand when he tried to look away. "How often have you been coming here?"

Eren signed his answer, and his sister groaned. She released him, and Eren looked away pitifully.

"Eren, really?" She asked and rubbed at her forehead.

"I thought you only came here that one time a few days ago. I didn't think you came back after that." Armin muttered and signed. Eren shook his head and replied, to which the boy looked relatively pleased.

"It doesn't matter anymore." Mikasa said. "We're leaving."

"No, Mikasa!" Eren whined.

"We're going." She warned, her tone actually frightening, even from where Levi was standing, and he wasn't by any means close. Even Levi felt a little threatened by her attitude.

Eren whined and stood up from his chair. He collected his things and stuffed them back into his backpack, and then tossed it on his back. He reached for his books, but Mikasa grabbed at his arms and yanked him forward.

"Let's go," She commanded. Eren audibly whined and fought within her grasp, but his sister obviously had some serious muscles to her for all of her skinny stature.

"A-Armin! Armin!" Eren called out to him and managed to free a hand to sign something to him. Mikasa yanked him out of the store, and Armin sighed to himself when he was left alone. He noticed Levi's lingering stare and he promptly clear his throat and collected the books Eren left behind, a small blush on his cheeks the whole time.

"Um, s-sorry about that." He apologized and brought the books over to the counter. "They can be a hassle sometimes."

"Were they your brother and sister?" Levi asked, but he highly doubted it. None of them looked alike, and Mikasa was the one calling Eren her brother. It really didn't make sense.

"Oh, n-no, Eren and Mikasa are related, but I'm not. I'm just a friend." The blond stuttered with a blush.

"The kid must trust you then. He doesn't even text his own sister." Levi muttered as he began putting the books into the system.

"No, he trusts her too; Eren's just trying to make a point. It's not that big of a deal really."

"It seems like one."

"Well, maybe I'm just used to it then. They're always fighting like this." Levi placed the books back on the counter for him, and the blond took them quietly, though grunting at the weight of them.

"They fight like this all of the time?" Levi asked.

"Uhm... Yeah, kind of." Armin cleared his throat again.

"Right... Well, these need to be back by the twenty-eighth." Levi instructed. Armin nodded his head in understanding.

"Right, it was nice meeting you. Have a good day." He said and left the store as quietly as he came in.

It fell quiet again, and Levi suddenly felt the pressure enveloping him. Even though he heard only the small sounds, such an occasional yawn or the flip of a page from Eren when he was there, the quiet now was unsettling. People rarely visited the store, so having it quiet again wasn't something of the norm anymore.

It made him feel uneasy.

* * *

**P.S. Want to hear the dumbest thing I did about this story? Okay, so while I was writing about Eren reading his books, I had a thought. Here was my thought. "Oh, he's going to need some books with braille in them so he can read them."**

**... Do you get it?**

**He's deaf, not blind. XD Oh I'm tired.**


	3. We Meet Again

**A/N: Hi~ Everyone~! :D Here is the latest chapter! I know it's a bit slow right now, but I have a method to my madness, I promise. I'd like to take a moment to explain a few things. I know you guys are a little turned off by how protective Mikasa is, but I promise that I have a reason. ^^ There will be lots of development between all of the characters to come. :3 And as for the question, is it a book store or a library... You know, I don't really know anymore. XD I wanted it to be a bookstore, so it was, but then I needed to give Eren a reason to come back, so it became a library. I don't even know. It's both, how's that? Together, we can make this happen. XD**

**-Misty**

**Song of the day: Hotaru**

**By: Fujita Maiko**

* * *

**The Change You Wish to See****  
**

* * *

**(Original summary, but screw the stupid character limits) Levi's never put much care into things. He doesn't put much care into things **_**at all**_**. Nothing ever peaks his interest. Well, that's until he meets Eren Jaeger. Levi isn't sure what it is that's so interesting about him, and it irritates him to feel these feelings he's never felt before. Regardless, he goes to talk to the boy. When he doesn't receive an answer, he just thinks that the boy is rude; however, he understands why when Eren doesn't answer him. Eren is deaf.****  
**

* * *

**Rated M for sexual content, adult language, some violence, mile character death****  
****Main pairing: Riren with some side pairs****  
****Anime: Shingeki No Kyojin (Attack on Titan) ****  
**

* * *

**Chapter Three: We Meet Again****  
**

* * *

Levi didn't see the brunette for two weeks after that. It was completely unsettling, the quiet and how dense it was. All that was there to occupy his time were books and Hanji, and he could only handle so much of Hanji for so long. Well, he could only handle so much of books for a certain amount of time too, but at least those could occupy his mind quietly.

Sometimes the blond kid came in, the one named Armin. He came in once or twice a week, saying that coming to the store to sit and read was a great way to relax after school and work.

Apparently Armin had a real love for books, a love for them that outmatched Eren's, which Levi came to find out that Eren really didn't like books. Armin especially loved ones about nature or places to vacation at. They weren't normal vacation places either. He, much like Eren, liked to explore. He liked the idea of the world around them, not the one surrounding them called a city. Levi would agree that the world was beautiful, but with his pay, that was as close to him as a pipe dream. However, hearing the kid talk about it made it seem like even someone worse off than Levi could still do it.

He was incredibly convincing, and Levi found that a rather admirable quality in him. He reminded him much of an old "friend," and he used that term loosely.

He asked once if Eren was like that. Armin said that Eren was just like him in that aspect, if not then maybe a little worse. He said it was most likely where he got it from, considering he was a recluse for the better part of his childhood until he met him; however, Eren was just too straight forward to be tactful about it. Levi wasn't sure why he bothered asking, but it did something to fill up his time, and without the kid to annoy him, he was at a loss.

He didn't talk to Armin much though. He asked if Eren was okay every now and again, Armin would say yes, and Levi would leave it at that. Sometimes he would ask about Mikasa to make sure the blond wouldn't get suspicious. He didn't want to make it seem like he was showing interest in the kid, but he couldn't help it. He was intrigued, and he wasn't sure why. Something about the kid was different. Maybe it was his bravery for taking on someone like Levi, or maybe it was something simple like the color of his eyes; those big, golden eyes of his. He wasn't sure.

He just knew that he was fond of the kid.

So, when Eren came back two weeks later, he was no less than surprised and slightly grateful by it. The brunette looked lost and embarrassed while tugging the books along with him. Levi was then reminded that today was indeed the twenty-eighth, and he had brought them back just in time. He didn't bother with a formal greeting, knowing Eren couldn't hear him, so he just waited until the kid could see him before waving a hand at him.

"Hey," The kid was deaf, not blind, so he knew what it was Levi was implying just by the wave of his hand. Eren smiled his way, a boyish smile that still had a teenage charm to it. Levi distantly wondered how Eren kept all of the girls off of him with a smile like that.

"Hi," It was a simple word, one Levi knew Eren could handle without his hearing. He set the books down on the counter and instantly went for the notebook in his backpack, but Levi stopped him. He already had a notepad handy, along with a cup of pencils and pens not too far off. He held out both to Eren, and the boy nodded his in thanks. _"Thank you," _He wrote down on the paper. He then handed Levi the notepad, who set it down on the counter to write on.

_"You brought these back just in time."_ He wrote down on the pad.

_"Armin told me when to bring them in."_ The brunette wrote down. Levi nodded his head and did the usual routine of scanning the books back into the computers. When he was done, he set them aside so he could continue to talk to the boy.

_"So where have you been?" _He questioned on the paper. Eren laughed a little before taking the pen back from Levi.

_"My sister grounded me and stuck me in the house. I snuck out to return these."_ He answered and motioned to the books.

_"Won't she notice you're gone?" _Levi asked.

_"No, she's at school right now with Armin."_ The teen answered. Somehow this answered Levi's previous questions. Eren always got there at twelve, and he always left at four. This meant that the two were at school at these hours, and the two weren't even aware that he was gone.

_"Why aren't you then?"_ Levi asked.

_"I'm home schooled."_ He replied with a shrug of his shoulders. Levi had a few guesses as to why that was, but he wouldn't voice it. He didn't want to upset the kid at all.

_"Ditching your work for today then?"_ He asked in lieu of his previous questions.

_"Just for an hour. I have to get back now."_ Eren replied. He stepped back, as if preparing to leave, but he stilled. He came right back and began frantically writing on the paper. With the way he was writing, Levi had no choice but to peek, and peek he did. However, Eren's writing was so fast that he was done in seconds, and Levi was left with an explanation.

_"I'm sorry for my sister a few weeks ago. She's never rude or anything like that, she was just worried about me. She can get very careless when she's worried about me. If she upset you at all, it wasn't her intention to do it."_ He read, muttering the words quietly to himself. Eren held the pen out for Levi, but Levi didn't bother with it, instead getting his own to write with.

_"It's not a problem. She didn't actually say much, but I knew that she was worried about you."_ He wrote down. Eren sighed, a small groan leaving him in irritation. Levi couldn't help but to ask more questions, curious behind the two of them and their odd relationship. _"Does she keep you in a basement or something? Don't you ever leave the house?"_

Eren seemed surprised by the blunt questions, but since when had Levi been tactical? That was something his old coworker didn't pass down to him.

_"Eh... Kind of. She lets me out of the house, but only when I'm with her or Armin."_

Was he saying kind of to the first or second question?

_"So wait, did the two of them come with you before?"_

_"No, that's why I got in so much trouble. I didn't tell them where I was going. I only told Armin to cover me once, and that was the day she came in. I wanted to stay longer, but apparently Armin sucks at lying more than I thought."_ Eren frowned after finishing his sentence. _"That's why I can't stay long."_

_"How long do you think you can stay?"_

"Hm...?" Eren sounded out after reading the sentence. Levi continued to write, not bothering to meet Eren's golden stare.

_"I'm asking how much longer you can stay."_

_"I don't think very long. Why...?"_

_"So if I asked you to come get a coffee with me, would you say no?" _The words definitely shocked the boy this time. He looked up in surprise, his big eyes even bigger and accentuated by the blush on his tan cheeks. Levi faintly smirked at the sight he'd created on the boy, but not getting an answer on the spot upset him.

"Uhm..." Eren uttered and looked around. He pointed to himself, and Levi nodded his head and pointed to the brunette.

_"Yeah you. No one else is in the store besides Hanji, and she's in the back. I'm supposed to take my break in a few minutes anyway, so what do you say?"_ One little, white lie couldn't hurt, right? He could have laughed at the way the boy's cheeks flushed darker before nodding his head.

_"I think a cup of coffee won't take long, right?" _He wrote on the paper. Levi nodded before pulling off his apron.

"Hanji!" He called out. There was a small crash in the back, one that Eren didn't hear, but Levi groaned to before the women appeared from the doorway.

"Yes?" She chirped.

"I'm going on my break. See you in an hour." Levi muttered as he walked around the counter to be beside Eren. "Don't let the place catch on fire."

"Oh, are you two going on a date?" Hanji mused with a wide grin. As Levi's reply, he turned his back and raised a middle finger at her before leaving.

* * *

"What can I get for you?"

"I'll have one coffee, black with no sugar." Levi said while looking in his wallet. He pulled out a ten and looked over to Eren, who was looking up at the drinks menu. He nudged Eren with his shoulder, spooking him from his quiet thoughts and pulling his attention away from the board. He motioned to the notepad in Eren's hand, and Eren wrote down what it was he wanted. "And one water please."

"Bottle or cup?" The petite women behind the counter asked.

"Bottle," Levi answered for him. "He doesn't need to be spilling stuff on himself." He muttered quietly, but he knew that it didn't matter. Eren couldn't hear him anyway.

The woman got their orders, and the two of them sat down in a booth by the shop window. Levi leaned back into the booth seat and crossed his legs, and old habit he picked up somewhere along the way. As he began drinking his coffee, he noticed the peculiar stare he was getting from the teen. He motioned for the kid to hand him his notebook, and he did, along with his pen.

_"What the hell are you staring at?"_ Levi asked on the paper. Eren's cheeks seemed to flush another pink color, and Levi was wondering if Eren was just easily embarrassed or sick, because it didn't seem natural to change colors so quickly.

_"I was just wondering why you held your cup that way."_ Eren remarked. Levi looked at the cup he was holding, how he was holding it by the paper rim instead of just holding the entire thing. Levi didn't even find this odd. He'd been doing it since he was a child, and it had become such a habit that he did it with everything he drank.

_"I don't know. Just a habit, I guess."_ No, that was a lie. He knew why, he just didn't feel like explaining it.

_"Isn't it hard though? Doesn't your hand get in the way?"_

_"No, not really. I've been doing it for so long that I don't even notice it."_ Levi wrote down. Eren decided to stop the questions after that. He drank from his water bottle silently, his eyes either looking at the water or the table. His hands were hiding in his lap, and Levi was sure the boy couldn't fidget anymore if he purposely tried to. After minutes of just that, of their quiet exchanges of eye contact and drinking, Levi finally decided to get things moving again.

_"Brat, what's on your mind?"_

_"Nothing is,"_ Eren was a terrible liar, and he didn't need to talk to prove it. His ears turned red just from trying to lie.

_"Obviously something is. What're you thinking about that's got you so fidgety?"_ Eren looked to the floor, and Levi thought the kid would faint if the blood stayed in his head any longer. _"If you aren't going to tell me why then at least pretend like it isn't on your mind. You're freaking me out."_ Eren took the pen back from Levi, but as he began to write, his hand hovered over the paper. Levi looked down at what he wrote, only to find one word written down.

_"This..." _Levi grabbed Eren's wrist and pushed down, trying to get him to continue. Eren whined quietly before he did. He scratched off the word so he could start again. _"... Is this considered a date?"_

The words were utterly surprising and left the normally perfectly functioning man to sit wide eyed and mouth slightly agape. He read over the words again, and then once more to make sure he wasn't reading them wrong or misinterpreting them for something else. No, the word was "date," and Eren was asking him if they were on one. Levi cleared his throat, a feeling of onset embarrassment hitting him fast. Well, he could definitely check this off of his bucket list.

Have an outing mistaken for a date by a hearing deficit nineteen year old: Check.

_"Do you think it is?"_ Levi countered with on the paper once the shock wore off. Eren shook his head, an odd sound leaving him that he was sure the brat didn't hear. Eren's hand barely kept still as he wrote, and twice he dropped the pen while writing.

_"No, I didn't, but I started thinking that maybe you thought it was a date. I thought you would probably get upset if I thought it was a date, and I wasn't sure-"_ Eren stopped writing and covered the notebook with a whine of embarrassment. "S-Sorry..." He muttered into his arms.

Levi pulled at his hands, effectively removing his hands from the paper. Levi yanked the pen from Eren's firm grasp and wrote on the paper, but Eren was too afraid to look. Levi pushed the notebook forward, not giving Eren the chance to act like a whining child. Eren knew as well that Levi wouldn't leave him alone until he did anyway.

_"Do you want this to be a date?"_ The words read. Eren couldn't bear the fear of looking up into Levi's eyes, afraid of what he'd see. The voice could be deceiving, but eyes couldn't, and Levi's dark grey eyes told a lot.

_"... Maybe. I don't know. I've never been on a date before."_ Eren dropped the pen to whine some more. Levi noticed the stares they were getting; obviously Eren's whining was annoying them, but how could Eren possibly know that? It's not like he could hear himself doing it. Was he even aware that he was doing it?

_"Well..."_ Levi wrote down. All this did was catch the kid's attention. _"How about, for the sake of our comfort and self-pride, this can be just two people going out for coffee?"_ He asked on the paper. Eren seemed downtrodden by the words and solemnly nodded his head, but this gave Levi the answer he was looking for to a question that wasn't written down._ "And..."_

Eren's eyes seemed to light up to the continuation of Levi's sentence. Levi noticed Eren's eyes quickly flicker up to him before looking away again, but his eyes fell to the paper, anxiously waiting.

_"... Friday we can go out for a date?"_ Levi left the sentence as is, no add-ons and no implications. This left the floor open for Eren, and this left it up to him to decide whether he was comfortable considering anything else as a date. Levi wouldn't admit it out loud, but he was rather nervous (because he couldn't think of a better word) to what Eren's answer would be.

Of course he didn't want to date a brat like him. He was nineteen, barely legal, and a little shit if he ever saw one, and he _had_. There was such a big age difference that it was laughable, and Levi couldn't possibly date someone so young. He wouldn't say that he didn't_ want _to date Eren because he was deaf, but wouldn't his lack of hearing be a factor to consider? Wouldn't that just make things difficult?

So of course he wouldn't date Eren, but why did he feel this emotional pit in his stomach that felt like it would burst if he said no? Why did the idea of Eren rejecting the date actually upset him?

"Ugh..." Eren uttered and picked up the pen. _"It's not good..."_ He wrote down. Levi felt an odd drop in his heart at the words, but Eren continued. _"I spend Friday's with my sister and my friend. Would Thursday be okay instead?"_

Was this right? Was this kid actually saying yes? Levi found the idea to be redundant, like it was all a dream, and when he woke up, it'd all be over. However, no matter how much he blinked or no matter how much he tried to shake himself awake, it didn't work. He was awake, and this was really happening.

_"I don't get off of work until seven on Thursdays. Is that okay with you?"_

And was he really agreeing to this? Was he really going on a date with this kid?

_"That's fine,"_ Eren looked away for a moment, a frown on his face. _"However, I have to find a way around my sister."_ The words weren't what Levi wanted to read.

_"You can't hide this from your sister."_ Levi informed.

_"Why...? Maybe Armin will cover me again. Or maybe I can just blast music in my room with the door locked and pretend I'm asleep. I've done it before." _Eren excused.

"_No, don't lie to your sister. You're only giving her a reason not to trust you."_ Eren's eyes fell into that sad puppy-dog expression and it took a lot to keep Levi convinced that he was right. _"Eren, think of it this way. Say we're out, your sister doesn't know where we are, and some bastard comes up and kills us both. She's going to think you're sound asleep in your room, not breathing your last breath in an alleyway."_

Levi was aware that his words were harsh, but so was reality, and he needed to make sure that Eren understood. Of course Levi would never allow something like that to happen, but the odds could have been thrown out there at any moment.

What if one of them was hit by a car? What if there was some psycho with a gun shooting up innocent lives? The world was full of shit and shitty people, and he had to make sure Eren understood. Obviously the kid did, but he looked mortified to go with it.

_"And besides,"_ Levi continued. _"If your sister finds out you're going out on a date with someone, I'd appreciate it if she didn't want to kill me first hand. I'd like to meet her, and then let her decide if she really wants to kill me."_

_"She might. Mikasa is really protective of me." _Eren wrote down.

_"It doesn't matter. I want her to know that this is all simple and pure-hearted, not just some creepy, old pervert trying to get into your pants."_

_"You aren't, right?"_ Eren chuckled as he met Levi's eyes. The brat was blushing, and Levi rolled his eyes.

_"Old or perverted?"_ Levi retorted.

_"Perverted. Wait, how old are you?" _Eren asked. Levi felt a smirk spreading his lips as he wrote down his answer.

_"How old do I look?"_

_"... Twenty-six?"_

_"Add eight to that."_ Levi replied. Eren had to hold up his fingers to count, but when he got it, the shocked expression that came across his face was priceless.

"Huh?" Eren sounded, followed by a few other sounds as he pointed to the older man. More stares insisted from the people around them, but Levi was too humored by the kid to care. _"You're thirty four?"_

_"Yeah, and I'll be thirty five in December."_

_"Wow..."_

_"Okay kid, it's not like I'm one-hundred and one."_ Levi rolled his eyes. Eren laughed as he continued to write.

_"So we know you're old. I must be up against a lot of competition, right?"_ He questioned.

_"Kid, let me tell you something. Ever since high school, every girl looks at me and drools. You probably noticed the girl at the register doing it too. I've never done anything to attract them let alone go out with them, so why would I pick you over a sea of fans who have been following me around like puppies for the better part of twenty years?"_ It was the truth, because Levi had been chased by many girls, and even a few guys.

He never cared for them, and didn't bother dating. Hanji had convinced him on one or two, and one was not so bad for a while, but the idea of affection from anyone didn't settle right with Levi, and it was broken off in a week. He left the girl devastated, but he assured her that it wasn't her, but him, which was also the truth. He just wasn't the type to date.

_"Uh... I'm an easy target?"_ Eren chided.

_"Try again."_ Levi smirked and sat back. That was the end of their conversation on the topic of their date. It was over and done with, leaving the two to finish their drinks in silence.

However, the question still remained.

Why was Eren unlike the others?

* * *

**A/N: I'm curious to know if anyone saw the reference. XD**

**Anyway, I'm saying this again so everyone knows! I'll be in San Francisco from the 11th to the 15th this month for yaoi con! If anyone is going, don't be shy. I'd love to meet you guys. ^_^ This does mean that there probably won't be updates next week, but we'll see. :3**

**Have an awesome week everyone! :D**


	4. Acceptance

**A/N: Oh my gooooood! You guys~ The weekend I had at yaoi con beats all other conventions by far! I got to meet Reika, I got pictures with her (all on meh tumblr if any of you are curious to see), and had breakfast with her! Gah! *Faints like a fangirl* I just can't even. I have officially gone gay because of her... Well, gay for _her_ anyway. XD**

**Ah! But you're here for the fanfic! Of course! :D Well, here is another chapter. For this one, again I'd like to point out that I have my intentions for having Mikasa so harsh as an elder sibling to Eren. I also know that it's still building rather slow, and hopefully you guys don't get bored with that. ^^' I'll try to keep you guys entertained as much as possible! Thank you for keeping up with the story so far, and thank you for all of the wonderful comments! You have no idea how much I really appreciate it. *tears of joy* As usual, a big thanks to Marika for the beta reading, and enjoy!**

**-Misty**

**Song of the day: Mienai Tsuki**

**By: Fujita Maiko**

* * *

**The Change You Wish to See****  
**

* * *

**(Original summary, but screw the stupid character limits) Levi's never put much care into things. He doesn't put much care into things **_**at all**_**. Nothing ever peaks his interest. Well, that's until he meets Eren Jaeger. Levi isn't sure what it is that's so interesting about him, and it irritates him to feel these feelings he's never felt before. Regardless, he goes to talk to the boy. When he doesn't receive an answer, he just thinks that the boy is rude; however, he understands why when Eren doesn't answer him. Eren is deaf.****  
**

* * *

**Rated M for sexual content, adult language, some violence, mile character death****  
****Main pairing: Riren with some side pairs****  
****Anime: Shingeki No Kyojin (Attack on Titan) ****  
**

* * *

**Chapter Four: Acceptance**

* * *

When Levi bothered a glance at the calendar, he already found it to be September. The fall temperatures were cold, but a welcoming change of pace from the hot summer they had. He hadn't even really noticed it, but the only reason he did now was for the sake of checking the date.

Eren and he had made plans for Thursday, and it was already Wednesday. The kid hadn't come in since Friday when he last saw him, and he should have bothered exchanging numbers, but that was even if the brat hadn't lost his cellphone to his sister. At least this way he could have known if he told his sister about him or not.

So, when Eren suddenly came storming in at five-thirty in the evening, forcibly tugging his sister behind him, it was indeed a surprise.

"E-Eren, stop pulling!" Mikasa yelled, but she didn't bother signing. Levi definitely wondered why the girl tried talking out loud when the kid obviously didn't hear anything. Maybe it was for the sake of her sanity? He'd never know. "Eren, stop!" Mikasa yelled and pulled back so hard that it yanked Eren to the floor.

The poor kid looked dumbfounded, but nonetheless, he stood and continued to pull.

"Eren, what is this about?" This time Mikasa had her brother's attention, enough to sign her question for him. Levi watched with mild interest as the boy signed back, though he couldn't be sure of what. He only knew it was something that took the girl by surprise.

He couldn't have possibly told her _now,_ could he?

"... A date?" Yeah, he did. "W-Wait, wait a minute here. You want to go on a date with someone?"

"Yes," Eren said and nodded his head.

"With who?" Mikasa asked. Eren motioned towards Levi with his head, and her dark blue eyes traveled to find him. When she saw him, there wasn't much of a reaction; possibly disgust, but no real reaction. "With him?" She asked.

"Mhm..."

"Wait..." Mikasa looked like she was trying to correctly process everything. The words made no sense to her, like Eren was speaking gibberish to her. It probably didn't help any that he was indeed speaking in sign language. "You want to go on a date with him?" She signed. Eren nodded his head eagerly, and Levi wouldn't lie and say it wasn't the least bit cute.

The older man sighed and closed his book before stepping out from behind the counter. He straightened his apron and walked over to the two, noticing the glaring Mikasa was doing to both him and Eren.

"Hey," Levi said and held out his hand. "I'm Levi; it's nice to officially meet you." Mikasa glared, and she didn't bother trying to shake his hand.

Well this was already going well.

Eren made a sound of protest and pushed at his sister's arm. She glared, but Eren continued to hit her arm until Mikasa took Levi's waiting hand. She had a firm grip when she shook it, or maybe she was just trying to break his hand off, but at least she was being civil.

"Nice to meet you too." She muttered. "I'm Mikasa Ackerman, Eren's sister."

Ackerman? As in she didn't have Eren's last name. Could she have been born with a different parent? That would explain why they looked nothing alike. Or maybe the two of them had the same relationship as he had with his own little sister.

Levi sighed.

"Eren, is this why you came here in the first place?" Mikasa asked. Eren shook his head and began signing, and Levi internally cursed. He was going to have to pick up sign language, because there was no way he was going to talk to this kid with a notebook for the rest of his life. "Wait, what do you mean you were here Friday? You were grounded."

"Good one..." Levi mumbled under his breath.

"No," Mikasa said. She didn't even sign it, but Eren knew her answer without having to hear it. Eren whined, but Mikasa shook her head. "Eren, no. I don't know him, and I don't think it's a good idea for you to be going out by yourself with him."

"I'm standing right here." Levi uttered.

"I know," Mikasa said and glared at him.

"So stop insinuating that I'm some fucked up rapist. It's insulting and I don't appreciate it." Eren's eyes were darting between his sister and Levi, and he didn't need to hear to know that they were practically growling at each other. He could just feel the anxiety in the air crushing down on him, and he wasn't sure if he should intervene or duck behind one of the tables and hide in fear.

"I never said you were one."

"You didn't need to say it. It's so obvious that you think that way."

"You don't know what I'm thinking." The two of them stepped closer, facing each other and glaring absolute hate through equally cold stares. Eren whined and pulled at Levi's arm, but he wasn't backing down.

"Oh really? If you didn't think I wouldn't mess with Eren, you'd be fine letting him go out with me."

"Anyone can mess with him."

"Anyone who doesn't give a shit. I'm not trying to fuck with him, got it? It's just us going out to the park. We're going to walk, and then we'll go eat at some fast food place. We'll talk, get to know each other, and _that's it_. That's all we're doing. If you want, you can even give him a curfew and I'll bring him back at that time."

Eren tried prying the two apart, but they were now practically chest to chest, Mikasa trying to tower over Levi even more than she was now.

"This "date" is more like two friends going out to have a good time. Is that okay with you, _mom?_" Levi bit out. Eren squeezed himself between the two and held his arms out, hoping to get some distance between them.

"Stop it...!" He yelled, but it sounded more muffled than he was probably intending it to sound. "Don't... Fight…!"

"We aren't fighting, Eren." Mikasa said and signed, but she had her eyes glued to Levi.

"I get out of work at seven tomorrow. Can you trust me enough to bring him back by nine?" Levi asked.

"No," Mikasa hissed. She looked down at Eren, and Eren was flashing his big, eyes at her and sticking out his bottom lip. Mikasa frowned a little longer, but even Levi couldn't resist his pouting face.

"Just say yes so he'll stop." He groaned. Mikasa eventually sighed, the muscles in her face relaxing. Eren knew he won the battle just from that alone.

"He better be back by nine, or I'll have the police on your ass before you can even blink." Mikasa warned, and she signed it to make sure Eren understood. Eren lit up with happiness at the thought of her finally letting him free for a night, and he began jumping around and cheering. Again, Levi was thankful that no one ever came into his bookstore.

"Deal."

* * *

Though the nights could get chilly, this was ridiculous for September. Levi had no choice but to dig into his winter clothes and yank out a heavier jacket, which he was now digging his hands into the pockets of to keep warm while waiting for Eren to leave his house. Mikasa was persistent though, making sure he was completely ready before he left, not to mention that Levi definitely saw something akin to pepper spray being slipped into Eren's jacket pocket. The kid whined and pushed the girl away, but Levi knew it wasn't enough. It wasn't until seven forty-five that she actually relinquished her hold on him and let him go, and Levi was sure that this was her way of buying time.

Regardless, when Eren was free, he was relieved. He already had his notebook ready and waiting to write so they could talk, and the first words he wrote down were simple.

_"Hi, Levi,"_ The words said. Levi took the pen and paper that was offered to him and wrote down his response.

_"Hey, brat." _Simple and easy. Eren rolled his eyes in annoyance, but the smile that was spreading his lips was saying different. He must have been on cloud nine right now with no hopes of coming down, and there was a weird sense of pain to think that he'd have to come down eventually. It was a simple date, going for a walk and eating. He chose a fast food place, because he didn't want to be in a fancy restaurant where there would be pressure. A fancy place would insinuate too much, and Levi didn't want to put that much pressure on either of them.

He was sure he couldn't handle it if Eren took something the wrong way.

_"So, do you want to eat first?" _He asked on the paper. Eren nodded his head as the two began walking to Levi's car.

_"I'm starving."_

_"You didn't starve yourself all day for this, right?"_ Levi chuckled as he waited for Eren's response.

_"I had breakfast?"_

_"And what did you eat?"_ Eren hesitated to answer.

_"Eggs?"_

_"And...?"_

_"Okay, it was one hard boiled egg with some salt on it. Sue me."_ Levi rolled his eyes as he got into the driver's seat. Eren may not have been able to hear, which kept him from talking, but his writing spoke volumes for his personality. As Levi and Eren took their seats, Levi felt a tap on his shoulder. Eren was trying to get his attention, and when he had it, Eren held up his notebook. _"You have a nice car."_

Levi chuckled again as he took pen from him.

_"Don't be impressed. It's a shitty ass car."_ He wrote down.

_"It's still a nice car,"_ The kid responded. _"Where are we going for dinner?"_ He then asked.

_"Just a quick fast food place. I didn't have anything big planned out beforehand, but your sister took up quite a bit of time just to be sure."_ Once he wrote that down, Levi turned the ignition on. The heat was on full blast, and Levi forgot how cold he was until the heat hit him fast. Even Eren reveled in the heat, letting out a sigh of relief and slight irritation as he continued writing.

_"Ignore her. She gets very overprotective of me, and it's not worth worrying about for you."_ Levi couldn't reply while he was driving, not unless he wanted to risk both of their lives. No doubt his sister would kill him if he didn't die in the crash. Instead, he kept quiet. Levi kept his eyes on the road, occasionally looking at Eren to see what he was doing.

Eren's golden eyes were everywhere, looking from one thing to the next with a dangerous curiosity. He acted like he had never stepped foot into the outside world, and it was troubling to think that way. Levi would never admit it out loud, and it took a lot to admit it just to himself, but the boy was rather cute in a boyish sort of way. He had a face that would probably make any girl swoon; if only he hadn't been cursed with his lack of hearing. Eren didn't seem to mind, but that could have been a facade. He could have been acting so people wouldn't really see that he was in pain, but one wouldn't know.

Would he possibly find out later? Was Levi even thinking of pursuing something with this kid for that long? He didn't necessarily like him, but he didn't hate him either, and that said a lot for someone like him. Eren was a good kid, and he didn't seem to mind hanging out with Levi.

Hopefully Levi didn't mess that up for him either.

He felt a tap on his shoulder. Levi waited for the next red light before bothering a glance over at Eren. He was holding up his notebook, but Levi noticed the worried expression on the kid's normally happy face before seeing the words on the paper.

_"Are you okay?"_ The words asked for him. _"You look upset."_ Levi offered up a nod, because that was all he could do when the light had tuned green. Eren didn't seem very convinced, but he placed his notebook down and continued to watch Levi from the side.

Maybe he would find out later.

* * *

_"So what happened then?"_

_"Connie literally snuck into the girl's bathroom."_

_"Oh God, are you serious?"_

_"Here's the best part. Miss Nanaba was in there!"_

_"Awe man! Why can't I be in public school? I miss out on all of the cool things!"_

_"It's not as fun as you think it is, Eren, trust me."_

_"Well neither is home schooling... I think it would be less boring if Mikasa would just let me go out and have fun with some friends. Hell, I'd even hang out with Jean if it meant I'd be allowed outside."_

_"I don't know if she'd let you do that. If it helps though, I'll see what I can do about getting everyone to go out every few weeks, and if I'm there, Mikasa should let you go."_

_"Thanks, Armin, you're the best."_

Levi couldn't help but read over some of the previous conversations in Eren's notebook while the kid got up to go to the bathroom. Levi was left with more questions each time he met up with Eren though.

He saw firsthand that Armin could use sign language, so why did he choose to write instead of sign? Was it a personal preference for him? Did Armin like writing a lot more than he did signing? It would make sense considering how often he read books.

Levi barely caught a glimpse of Eren coming back in time to turn the page and write something. Eren must have been distracted by everything around him, because he didn't notice Levi do it, and he sat down in his chair to continue eating.

_"Did you wash your hands?" _Levi showed the page to Eren, who made a weird face with a French fry hanging from his mouth.

_"Of course I did. I'm not some disgusting pig."_ Eren replied before stealing a French fry from Levi's tray.

_"You say that when you've got food hanging out of your mouth." _Levi smirked when he saw the dumbfounded look that came across Eren's face. Eren swallowed before grinning, and that grin stayed there as he ate and continued to write.

_"So are you really thirty-four?"_

_"Are you really nineteen?"_

_"How did you know I was nineteen?"_

_"Hanji told me."_

_"Hanji is the lady from the bookstore, right?"_ Levi nodded his head as he took a bite from his own meal.

_"Yeah, the crazy one."_

_"I wouldn't say she's crazy."_ Eren's words made Levi frown.

_"What would you say then?"_ Levi noticed it, and he sometimes wondered if Eren actually noticed it too. He used the word "say" often, as if he was really talking. Did that ever upset him?

_"I would say she's eccentric."_

_"No, she's legally insane, and she doesn't get offended if you say so."_ Levi corrected, making Eren chuckle.

_"Alright, I'll take your word for it. How do you say her name anyway?"_

_"What do you mean?"_

_"Like, is her name said with a soft j, or does it sound like a hard j?"_

_"It's like a hard g, and the first part sounds like "on." Hanji."_ Eren tilted his head to the side while reading the words Levi wrote.

"Hanji..." He mumbled and looked up at Levi. "Hanji...?" Levi nodded his head, a little surprised by hearing Eren speak.

He didn't think Eren would try. He didn't know Eren even _could_. Sure, the kid had been able to talk since he was nine, but a fourth grade education could only take one so far. How much did Eren know? How long did he spend studying to be able to comprehend sound? It was all still a mystery to him.

_"Perfect,"_ Levi wrote down. Eren smiled before continuing to write.

_"So where are you from?"_ He asked.

_"You should be more specific. I'm highly obligated to answer that I'm from my mother's uterus if you don't." _With Levi's response, Eren scoffed and rolled his eyes.

_"Okay, how about what town, city, or state were you born in?"_

_"Paris, France."_ Levi answered.

_"Wait, you're French too?"_ Levi nodded his head, rather pleased that he could create such confusion for the poor kid.

_"Yes I am."_

_"Do you have an accent?"_

_"No, I grew out of it. I moved to America when I was eighteen, so it's been awhile since I've had one."_

_"Why did you come here? I mean, was it for a job or something?"_

_"No, I just didn't want to be in France anymore."_ Levi sighed as he handed Eren the pen, but it was obvious that Eren knew that the subject was being pushed.

_"Well... I don't know why you chose America. You could have gone somewhere fun like... I dunno, Korea, Japan, or Ireland; anywhere really. I'd like to go to Hawaii if I was given the opportunity."_

_"You're still in America, dummy."_ Levi replied. Eren's grin provided a satisfactory result as Levi looked at his watch. "Shit..." He cursed.

_"What's wrong?_

_"It's already eight twenty-five. If we want to get to the park, we need to leave now."_ Levi didn't know that so much time had gone by. He thought he'd have more time, but after having to close the bookstore, go home and clean up, go pick up Eren who was then held up for twenty-five minutes because of his sister, time had been utterly wasted away into dwindling minutes.

_"How far is the park?"_ Eren asked.

_"Ten minutes by car. It may be easier to just ignore the idea of the park though."_

_"There's a park a block from my place. We can go there, and we wouldn't have to worry about time, because we'd only be a block away."_ Eren suggested as Levi began to clean up his food.

_"Are you okay with doing that then?"_

_"Yeah, it's fine."_ Eren stood up with a smile to clean up his mess, but not without writing once more. _"I like the park by my place anyway."_

* * *

Levi knew of the park Eren had been talking about, though there was one thing he didn't know about, and that was that the park was an actual playground for children.

"Eren..." Levi sighed, but he knew that Eren didn't hear him. Eren bolted for the nearest swing set and took the middle one, one with a blue swing seat. Levi rolled his eyes before joining and pushing at Eren's back, only nudging him forward a little.

The brunette didn't seem interested in actually swinging; it was more like he wanted to just sit, and Levi was fine with that. He sat down in the red swing beside him and looked down at the dirt, trying to remember the last time he had done this sort of thing. Nothing came to mind.

"Levy..." Eren mumbled. It took a lot from Levi to keep himself from snapping; if he was paid a quarter for the amount of times he'd been called "Levy" when he was younger, it would make him a rich man in minutes. Of course he knew that Eren didn't know any better, but that didn't make it any less annoying.

"Hm...?" Eren pulled his notebook into his lap to write down what it was he needed to say.

_"Why did you decide to go out with me?"_ When Levi read the words, they didn't quite make sense. At first he thought that it was because Eren was confused, but then he realized it was because he didn't know the answer himself. Why did he say yes? Why did he agree to go on this date with him in the first place? The answer was completely oblivious to him, and for an answer, all Levi could do was shrug his shoulders.

He stood up and walked over to Eren, giving him a few light pushes to get him going, but Eren didn't bother trying to go higher. He simply let himself be pushed until another question rose up in his head.

_"Was it because I really am an easy target?" _He questioned. Levi's eyes looked from the notebook to Eren before he shook his head. When had he gotten so close?

The swing stopped moving. Indeed; when had they gotten so close? The fog from Eren's breath was able to fan against his face, and his eyes wouldn't stop looking at him; those big, incessant, gold eyes.

_"What is this...?"_ Levi wondered through the thick fog that was his mind right now. He felt a small tug on his jacket and looked down to see Eren's hand hanging loosely off of his coat pocket. He cleared his throat and stepped back, breaking the space between them and looking down at his watch. He motioned to a very confused Eren for the notebook, and Eren handed it to him in a daze. Levi made quick work to write down what it was he needed to say, and he handed it back to brunette before the kid could question anything.

_"We need to get you back."_ The words on the paper said. Eren nodded his head and stood, his gaze now averted to the ground where it stayed. He didn't bother to write anything down, and Levi knew that this was his way of admitting that he didn't have anything to say, which was good. He didn't have anything to say either.

They didn't bother getting into his car. They were a block away, and at least then they could get their walk in. It was completely silent, minus Eren's nose when he sniffled every few minutes. When they got the chance to stop in front of his house, Levi pulled out a small packet of tissues his winter jacket miraculously had. He gave one to Eren, and he smiled and shook his head.

_"I'm okay."_ He wrote down on his notebook. _"Thank you though... Tonight was nice."_

Well, Levi wasn't looking for a mind blowing date. Like he said to Eren's sister, it was more like two friends going out for a good time. It took a lot of the pressure off of their shoulders that a real date would cause, and he could breathe easier tonight knowing it was over.

But did he want it to be over?

_"Glad you had fun."_

_"Maybe we can have fun again next time?"_

Was Levi reading that right? Was Eren hoping for another date? Was he actually asking for one, and was Levi actually thinking of agreeing to it?

_"It doesn't sound like a bad idea."_ He was. He was actually agreeing to another date. He wasn't drunk, was he?

_"I should go inside. Mikasa is probably watching us through the window."_

_"That would be a good idea."_ Levi gave Eren his pen and notebook back, and Eren forced them back into his book bag. He waved Levi off, and Levi lingered to make sure Eren got in safely. Eren opened his front door, but before that, Eren looked back at him.

Before Levi knew what happened, Eren abandoned his post at his door to stand beside him. Levi was about to question him before Eren grabbed at the buttons of his jacket and pulled. Soft lips were against his cheek, and Levi's grey eyes widened in surprise. He couldn't even comprehend the fact that Eren had kissed his cheek before Eren pulled away, a big, goofy grin spreading his lips from ear to ear and his cheeks a dark red color.

"You better hope that Mikasa didn't see that!" Levi lifted his head to the sound of the voice, and Eren followed his gaze, seeing Armin leaning against his windowsill with a smirk on his lips. Eren whined and pulled the pepper spray from his pocket (Levi knew that was what he saw), and chucked it at him. Armin ducked from his window to avoid getting hit, and he laughed as he came back to look at the two.

While Eren continued to argue with Armin in his unintelligible cursing that only the blond seemed to understand, Levi simply stood stalk still, frozen as the thoughts from before slowly caught up with him. He cheek was warm from the previous touch of Eren's lips, and he knew that he was faintly blushing like some school girl with a massive crush on a student in a higher grade, which was more annoying than anything at this moment. He buried his face as far down into his scarf as he could, trying to hide the evidence before anyone saw, but he knew better.

Well, the night wasn't a total loss after all.

* * *

**A/N: I may and or may not be in the process of another Ereri fanfic... May or may not... Depends on what you think. :3**


	5. Once

**A/N: Haha! So someone did get the reference! X'D Anyway, yay! Another chapter~ Again, that dumb moment happened where I thought, "Eren needs a book with the little dot thingy majigers called braille so he can read." What is wrong with me?! I think I'm just tired. Senior semester is killing me, but four months left and then I'm all done~ Woohoo!**

**And again! I know it's slow! Things are going to pick up soon! ... Hopefully... There will be smut, I can promise you that. I just don't know when. I KNOW IT'S THERE THOUGH! THIS FANFIC WOULDN'T BE RATED M IF IT WASN'T HERE!**

**-Misty**

**Song of the day: Don't Touch Me**

**By: Ailee**

* * *

**The Change You Wish to See****  
**

* * *

******(Original summary, but screw the stupid character limits) Levi's never put much care into things. He doesn't put much care into things _at all_. Nothing ever peaks his interest. Well, that's until he meets Eren Jaeger. Levi isn't sure what it is that's so interesting about him, and it irritates him to feel these feelings he's never felt before. Regardless, he goes to talk to the boy. When he doesn't receive an answer, he just thinks that the boy is rude; however, he understands why when Eren doesn't answer him. Eren is deaf.**

* * *

**Rated M for sexual content, adult language, some violence, mile character death****  
****Main pairing: Riren with some side pairs****  
****Anime: Shingeki No Kyojin (Attack on Titan) **

* * *

**Chapter Five: Once****  
**

* * *

After that, Eren came to the bookstore on a regular basis; however, he wasn't alone. Because Mikasa learned of his playing hooky, she wouldn't let him leave without someone. Levi didn't know the full story, but apparently it took a lot of convincing to get her to let him back out to the store. She eventually said he could go, but only if Armin was with him.

Of course the blond agreed, because a kid like him wouldn't disagree to the opportunity to spend time in a bookstore; however, Armin also had a job, so Eren could only go once or twice a week.

Still, this was something. Eren wanted to spend more time with him, and he would whine and complain that it wasn't enough, but Levi told him to focus on school instead of the store, and, when he was allowed to come, he could spend time with him. Levi didn't want to piss off Mikasa to the point where she'd keep Eren from coming at all, so he had to play nice, even though he didn't want to.

And he really didn't want to.

Those few days a week became weeks, making another month pass; Levi felt like he had gotten whiplash from how fast it went by. Eren had come by a total of seven times that month, and Levi knew that not because he was counting, but because Eren was and told him so.

Levi was internally amused by the kid and his enthusiasm, and he also felt bad for the poor kid. He couldn't imagine what it was like to be forced in his house all of the time. He couldn't imagine why Eren liked him so much, but if it got him out of the house, then at least he was doing something for him.

"Look!" Levi lifted his head from his book and looked over to where Eren and Armin were. Eren lifted up a book to Armin who leaned over slightly from the ladder to see it. The poor kid was too short to reach the top of the bookcase, and he refused Eren and Hanji's offer of help multiple times already.

"What kind of bug is that?" Armin asked.

"Would you two keep it down over there?" Levi asked. The two boys grinned, and Eren left the table with the book in hand to show Levi.

"Levy," He called out to him and placed the book in front of him.

"Hm...?" Eren pointed to the picture in the book frantically, making noises to get his attention. Levi looked inside the book to see the supposed bug they were talking about, and Eren fished around for the notepad and pens.

_"What is that thing?"_ He asked once he found what he needed to write with.

_"It's a panda ant."_ Levi answered.

"Panda ant?" Eren asked out loud.

_"Despite its name, it's a wasp with the colors of a panda on its... Fur? Whatever the fuck that shit on it is. It's just a wasp."_

"Armin!" Eren yelled, and Levi groaned. Eren really had no idea how loud he could get.

"What...?" Armin asked and signed.

"A panda ant!" Eren cheered and ran back over to him with the book.

"A panda ant?" Armin questioned and looked at Levi.

"It's a wasp with black and white fur." Levi said and stepped away from the counter.

"It's so adorable..." Armin mumbled and laughed. "I wonder if they eat bamboo like pandas. What do you think they eat?"

"Little kids who keep pulling on the bookshelf. Get down before you pull the whole shelf to the ground with you under it." Levi commanded. Armin looked back to realize that he had indeed been holding onto the shelf, and every time he moved forward, he yanked on the fragile wood. He yipped with fear and jumped down from the ladder, making Eren laugh at him.

_"Do you think there are any more books on this bug?"_ Eren asked with the notepad.

"I'm sure there are if we looked. If we figured out what its technical name is, we could look it up by name." Armin answered out loud while signing. Levi made a mental note to later question Eren or Armin about that.

Eren tugged at Levi's shirt sleeve to catch his attention, and when he had it, Eren continued to write on the notepad.

_"Can you help me find one?" _Eren asked.

_"Seriously? That's a pain in the ass, Eren." _Levi wrote down.

"Please?" Eren asked, and he accompanied the please with big, watery eyes and a trembling bottom lip to complete the look. Levi rolled his eyes before motioning for Eren to follow him, which he did with a sound of victory. Levi walked to the back part of the store, eyes scanning the books until they hit the children's section. If one wanted to find information on bugs, for some ungodly reason, the books were in the children's section. It didn't make sense, and even though it was his book store, someone higher up owned it, so that's how it stayed.

"Okay, so stupid ant book, stupid ant book..." Levi mumbled as he began scanning through the books. Eren took a seat on one of the steps to the step ladder no more than a foot away from the older man grumbling under his breath. He was uttering something about how the kid wanted help finding a book, yet he was the one doing all of the work while Eren sat on his lazy ass and wrote in his notebook. "Books on pandas, books on ants... Maybe I should look at wasps instead..." He mumbled to himself.

There was a light tap on his shoulder, and Levi tore his gaze from the extensive amount of books to look at the cause. Eren had poked at him with the end of his notebook, and Levi was prepared to swat it away with an irritated click of his tongue until he noticed the fresh writing on the blank page. He looked at Eren cautiously, and the boy nudged at him again, prompting Levi to take the notebook and read the words. So he did.

_"I kind of lied..."_ The words said.

"What do-" Levi was prepared to ask, but Eren stopped him by pressing a hand into his lips, silencing any further questions.

_"Since this agreement, Armin has been with me this entire time, and I haven't had one moment alone with you, so I was trying to find a way to get to talk to you in private."_ Oh, so that's what Eren lied about. _"I was just looking for the opportunity to talk to you."_

_"You need to talk to me about something?" _Levi questioned. Eren nodded his head and began writing, but his hand stalled on one word.

_"About..." _Levi pressed his hand into Eren's, attempting to get the brunette writing again, but he didn't miss the subtle jump in the kid's muscles at the touch. _"About what happened... When we went on our date..." _Eren's hand was barely grasping the pen as he handed it to Levi, and as Levi took it, he saw the heavy blush on his normally tan cheeks.

_"Are you talking about the park?"_ Levi asked. He gave Eren his pen back, and Eren practically jumped again at the way their fingers lightly brushed together.

_"That too... I meant when I..."_ Eren hesitated. "_... When I kissed your cheek."_

Well, if Levi wasn't dumbfounded before, he was now.

_"What about that...?"_

_"I just..." _Eren looked away for a moment, his cheeks turning a shade darker in embarrassment. _"Wanted to apologize..."_

_"Apologize...? Apologize for what?"_ Levi truly didn't understand.

_"When I finally got the chance to come see you again, you seemed really upset. I thought that maybe what I did upset you or made you angry, and I wanted to apologize and say I was sorry. I really like you, and I don't want to ruin everything because of one kiss on your cheek."_

So he had seen it. It was true, when Eren got to see him a week later, he did try to avoid him, but only because he was confused. He thought he was acting like his usual self, but Hanji had said otherwise, and apparently Eren noticed his unusual behavior as well.

Levi sighed. If only Eren knew. If only he knew that this was just as confusing for him as it was for Eren. Levi never did the whole dating thing "properly" even though he did it twice, so the idea of "relationships" didn't click right for him.

If only Eren knew.

_"You thought I was upset?"_ Levi asked on the paper. Eren slowly nodded his head, gold eyes adverted to the floor in embarrassment. _"Listen, Eren, you don't need to apologize. I wasn't angry with you."_

_"Upset then...?"_

_"No, I wasn't anything. I'm not upset with you, okay?"_ When Eren didn't respond, Levi clicked his tongue and forced Eren's head up so he could find his eyes. Eren squeaked a small sound of surprise, and Levi glared at him, an almost mother-like glare that would make any child tell the truth or kill them with their own shame. Eren whined and nodded his head, his hand grabbing for the pen in Levi's hand.

_"Don't do that."_

_"Don't do what?"_

_"Don't look at me that way."_ Eren made another small sound in his throat. _"I get... Very confused when you do that."_

_"What do you mean?"_

_"I mean... My heart beats really fast and I feel like my vision is blurry. I've never felt like this before, and I... I know it's because you look at me that way."_

_"I didn't know I did that to you."_

_"You do!" _Eren looked to the ground with a huff, but knowing how he felt about this, Levi forced his head back up. He met Eren's eyes, not intending to look at him in any certain way, but it didn't seem to work. He saw the way Eren's cheeks flushed, how his pupils dilated considerably, and how Eren's breath barely caressed his face. Eren pulled back and shook his head to get rid of the blush, his fingers tightening around his notebook. _"Can I try again?"_ He asked on the paper.

Levi shook his head and shrugged his shoulders, his silent way of telling Eren that he didn't understand what he meant.

_"Can I try kissing you again?" _He asked. Levi felt an odd sort of shiver go down his spine at the words. He moved to respond, but the pen began writing again. _"Just this once, only this time... Can I try it on your lips?"_

He certainly was a blunt kid. That was for sure.

Levi knew he was blushing, even if it was barely noticeable. He cleared his throat, eyes looking down at the floor and then back to the words. He eventually looked up at him again, and Eren's eyes were so persistent and determined that it was a little derailing.

He hadn't had someone look at him like that in a long time. It wasn't even because someone wanted to kiss him; no, it was just the determination. That wasn't to say that Levi hadn't kissed anybody before, even though he hadn't. The closest thing he ever got to kissing was one peck on the cheek, but he couldn't remember who that was other than Eren, whether it was a relative or a friend.

That's right. Even at thirty-four, Levi hadn't had one kiss to his lips yet. He wouldn't walk around like a child and say that he hasn't had a "first kiss" yet, but that was precisely the case. He'd never kissed anyone, and no one had ever kissed him, and the idea of suddenly giving that opportunity to Eren had him feeling an odd flutter in his chest that didn't seem to go away. Obviously his discomfort showed, because Eren was quickly writing in his notebook to make up for what he said.

_"Only if you won't get upset with me, of course! If it upsets you, I won't do it, I was just curious, and I-" _Levi stopped Eren's incessant writing by taking the pen from him and writing his answer down.

_"Shut up, brat. It wouldn't upset me."_ Levi wrote. Eren looked up at him through his bangs, his cheeks red, though Levi wasn't sure of what anymore. It was probably the same thing that was causing Levi's cheeks to flush a level darker now, which was more obvious with his pale skin. _"Just once, got it?"_

At the words written down, Eren frantically nodded his head, a small sound leaving him in agreement.

"Okay..." He mumbled. Levi quietly groaned for a moment before touching the back of Eren's head, making him lift it. Eren's lips barely parted on a silent gasp, his hands grabbing at the front of Levi's shirt to hold onto him like a lifeline while the notebook fell to the ground. Levi's hand relaxed, fingers untangling themselves from his soft, brown hair to slip to his cheek. Eren quietly sighed, and the breath was soft against Levi's lips as he moved forward.

"Hey, Eren!" Levi jumped back at the sound of Armin's voice calling out for his friend, ultimately spooking Eren in the process. He quickly cleared his throat and tried to calm the redness in his cheeks before the kid could find them.

"He's over here with me!" Levi called out. He quickly picked up the notebook that had fallen and wrote his explanation in it, which was quick and simple for fear of being caught by the blond. _"Armin is coming."_ He wrote.

Just as he gave Eren his pen back, Armin appeared from behind one of the shelves.

"Ah, there you are." He said with a smile and signed. "Mikasa just texted me. She wants us home early for dinner." He explained.

"Oh..." Eren mumbled. He stood up from the ladder step and wrote in his book. _"Sorry..."_ The writing said, but the notebook was turned only in Levi's direction so he could be the only one to read it. Levi rolled his eyes at the kid and pushed at his back, making him walk forward. Eren began signing to his friend, and the blond replied with a smile.

"She got Chinese food for dinner." He answered. "And yes, she got you soda this time." Levi followed the two as they made their way back to their table. They collected their things, and Eren lingered as Armin moved ahead to warm up their car. Eren looked at Levi, a frown on his lips, though the blush still remained. Levi sighed and patted his back, to which Eren began writing in his notebook.

_"And you aren't mad...?"_ He asked. Levi nodded his head and took the pen from him.

_"Not even close." _Levi looked up at the kid, momentarily cursing at him for being so tall (or maybe at himself for being so short), but it didn't last long. Eren leaned down and kissed Levi's cheek once again, his lips lingering for a moment longer than the first kiss did. When he pulled away, his cheeks were the darkest shade of red they had turned all day, and Eren was starting to resemble a tomato.

"Bye Levy..." He said softly. Levi felt a small smile tug at the corner of his lips as he nodded his head, watching Eren turn to leave.

He could definitely get used to that nickname.

* * *

**A/N: If you pay close attention, you can see plot forming... Oh God. Okay, I'm going to bed now. XD**


	6. Beg

**A/N: Sorry for the wait! Lots of internet problems last week, and then things wouldn't get to Marika and then wouldn't get back to me. X'D It waaaaas supposed to be here last week, as well as other stories, but again... Internet problems. XD**

**So! ... Please bear with me. More fluffles will come, as will conflicts and more fluffles and sad stuff and WE'RE GETTING THERE IT'S JUST TAKING A WHILE! I SAID IT WAS A SLOW BUILD! X'D**

**-Misty**

**Song of the day: Strength**

**Abingdon Boys School**

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**The Change You Wish to See****  
**

* * *

**(Original summary, but screw the stupid character limits) Levi's never put much care into things. He doesn't put much care into things **_**at all**_**. Nothing ever peaks his interest. Well, that's until he meets Eren Jaeger. Levi isn't sure what it is that's so interesting about him, and it irritates him to feel these feelings he's never felt before. Regardless, he goes to talk to the boy. When he doesn't receive an answer, he just thinks that the boy is rude; however, he understands why when Eren doesn't answer him. Eren is deaf.****  
**

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**Rated M for sexual content, adult language, some violence, mile character death****  
****Main pairing: Riren with some side pairs****  
****Anime: Shingeki No Kyojin (Attack on Titan) **

**Chapter Six: Beg****  
**

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_"Please Mikasa!"_

"I said no, Eren!"

Armin made a low sound within his throat, watching the two siblings exchange arguments back and forth. They hadn't had such an argument like this since Eren threatened to set Mikasa up on a date with their friend, Jean, and that one lasted a good solid hour. However, _this time_, Eren was adamant about his resolution, and he wasn't giving in. The two had been at each other's throats all day, and the arguments just kept getting worse.

"Hey, guys-"

_"Mikasa, I'm not some kid! I'm perfectly capable of handling myself! Why can't you just trust me for once?"_ Eren signed with a stomp of his foot and a grunt.

"It's not you, Eren! I trust _you,_ but I don't trust _him!_" Mikasa was referring to Levi, who Eren hadn't seen since last week after the incident of the attempted kiss (the one Mikasa knew _nothing_ about).

_"Mikasa, I'm telling you that he isn't going to hurt me. I really like him, and I think he likes me too." _Mikasa felt slightly disgusted by the way Eren's cheeks flushed a darker shade.

"You _think_ he likes you? You mean you don't know how he feels?" Mikasa countered with.

_"Don't do that, Mikasa! If you'd let me see him more often, I'd know for sure how he felt about me by now!"_

"Eren, no." Mikasa turned away to go back into the kitchen, to continue cooking the meal she had been working with before Eren started this up again from when she got home from work.

She just couldn't get a break with him. Since Eren met Levi, it had been nothing but him, and Eren had been more rebellious since then. He wanted to see Levi more often, and when Armin was working and she was free, Eren would beg for her to take him to see the older man. She never did of course, because after a full week of college and work, one day off was too much of an opportunity to waste at a book store where her brother was flirting with some guy.

It was a constant battle, and she was growing more and more tired with each passing day.

"Mikasa," Eren grabbed at Mikasa's shoulders and pulled, trying to get her attention back on him. _"You don't understand! He's a good guy,__I'm telling you!"_

"Eren, you never know."

_"Ask Armin then! He's been with us the entire time, so he knows Levi! He'll stand up for me!"_ Eren signed and pointed back to the blond. Armin's blue eyes widened considerably, and he hopped off of the table to step into the room.

"Eren, don't bring me into this." Armin warned, but it was already too late.

_"Please, Armin, tell her! Please?"_ Eren begged. Armin whimpered again; he was using that kicked-puppy look to get what he wanted. _"He's a good guy, right?"_

"Well..." Armin began and sighed. "He's okay, I guess..."

"Just okay?" Mikasa asked.

"Yeah, I mean... He doesn't seem very sociable, and he doesn't talk about himself much, but he seems to like Eren to a certain degree. Levi seems like the type who doesn't easily tolerate people, but he's fine with Eren. Doesn't that say something?"

"Not much to me." Mikasa muttered.

"Please," Eren begged. _"Please, I just want to go out with him. I can come back again in two hours if you want, and I'll have that stupid pepper spray on me-"_

"Eren, enough." Mikasa warned while turning her whole body. This was her way of saying that the conversation was over, that her answer was final, and she wasn't going to change it.

"Mikasa-"

"No."

"Mikasa," Armin sighed. Eren's sister looked over her shoulder, glaring daggers at the boy. She was silently threatening him; no, _daring_ him to bring up the topic again. Armin felt a terrible pit in his stomach, but he knew that she wouldn't actually do anything to hurt them. The best she could do was ground them, and for some reason they followed along like she was their mother.

How annoying.

"What...?"

"Let Eren go out." Needless to say, the two siblings were dumbfounded. Eren was grateful nonetheless, but it was utterly surprising. Armin was a peacekeeper, one who stayed on the side lines, and he only ever took sides once in the time that Eren had known him. Eren remembered it specifically, because it was his decision to stay with him and Mikasa after he was offered a place to go to college that was too far away for his liking.

Eren could never fathom why the blond said no, because it had been Armin's dream to travel. For Armin to respectfully decline and stay with them was beyond his comprehension.

Regardless, Armin never took sides. When it came to the two of them, Armin tried his best to stop their arguments. For him to suddenly go against Mikasa; was he asking for a death wish?

"What...?"

"Eren's dying of boredom here, and he is learning a thing or two hanging out in that library."

"This wouldn't be at the bookstore, Armin." Mikasa practically hissed his name, and Eren could tell it was unsettling just by seeing Armin's reaction. "He's asking to go out with the guy again to somewhere we don't know about for God knows how long."

"Mikasa," Armin didn't bother signing. He stuffed a hand into his pocket, the other motioning for Mikasa to follow him. She did, and Eren was left standing in the kitchen alone with Mikasa's food on the stove.

He hated it when they did this.

He knew that the two left so they could discuss this by themselves. They wouldn't sign to each other, leaving him in the dark, and with them not in the room he couldn't give lip reading a try.

He hated it when he was reminded of his handicap.

Eren slipped over to the hallway where they had gone to and peeked in. He saw the two of them arguing, or yelling more than arguing. Mikasa was pissed, and Armin was trying to calm down, but that was all Eren could tell. He couldn't hear what it was they were saying, if Armin was talking sense into her or if she was beating him down.

He couldn't tell, and he hated it so much.

"He'll be fine!"

"You don't know that. What if- to the-?" Reading lips could only get him so far, and it wasn't helping him any here. He could barely get a word in, and with how fast they were talking, it was a surprise that he got as much as he did.

Eren looked away and left the room. He got out of the house, because at least that way he could breathe fresh air, even if it was cold. He didn't bother putting shoes or a jacket on, because he only sat on the porch steps, but, after a while, he wished he had. He wanted to go back inside to at least get a coat, but he didn't want to run the risk of seeing his only family fighting. It was extremely uncomfortable for him, and he didn't want to cause any more trouble than he already had.

It was ridiculously cold, and he cuddled into himself for warmth. He settled his knees against his chest, his feet crunching the autumn leaves under them. He only knew that because he felt it, not because he heard it.

Why was it so difficult for him? Why couldn't he just hear like everyone else in the world? Maybe then his life wouldn't be so difficult. Maybe then Mikasa wouldn't treat him like a child, and maybe then he could go on one harmless date with someone he actually _liked_. It was hard enough trying to make friends, but to date someone was another subject entirely. This was something new to him, new and exciting, and he wanted to experience it for himself.

He just wanted to be normal. Why was that so hard for everyone to understand?

There were vibrations behind him. Eren sighed and waited for whoever it was to sit down beside him, and so they did. He looked to the side to see Armin taking a seat beside him, a blanket in his hands that he threw over Eren's shoulders. Eren signed his thank you to him, and Armin smiled and nodded his head.

_"I talked to Mikasa. She's says it's okay for you to go on a date with Levi again." _Armin signed for him. Eren smiled, but it was bitter and utterly lacking in happiness. Armin had seen clowns with better smiles, and their smiles were painted on. _"What's wrong?"_ Armin asked once he saw the anxiety in Eren's eyes.

_"I hate it when you two fight." _Eren signed and looked out to the street.

_"Eren, it's okay. People are obligated to fight every now and again. You and Mikasa do it all of the time. It just means that your relationship is healthy."_ He had to admit that the joke brought something akin to a smile on Eren's cheeks, but remembering that Eren and Mikasa's relationship was far from healthy only made his smile weak. His muscles tightened, a barely visible gesture, but it was a minimal _something_ to his friend.

_"I just don't like it."_ He explained.

_"I know, Eren, I know. If it makes you feel any better, neither of us is upset. You don't need to be anxious or worried about how we feel; you'll make yourself sick doing that."_

_"I can't help it. Don't you ever feel that way?"_

_"Every time I see you and Mikasa fight," _Armin sighed and scooted closer to his friend, sneaking his way under the blanket for warmth, but Eren was more than willing to share with him and cover him up.

_"I don't mean to upset you... I just get so..."_

_"Cornered?" _Armin asked.

_"Yeah..."_

_"I can imagine..."_ Armin lifted his head up to look at the stars in the sky. Eren followed his lead, and the two watched the cloudless sky and the stars in awe. It was silent for a few minutes, and it only broke when Armin lifted his hand to sign. _"Dinner is ready inside. Ready to eat?"_

_"I don't know if I can face Mikasa right now." _Eren signed and looked away from the sky. Just the idea of having to see Mikasa let alone have a possible conversation with her made his stomach twist in knots.

_"You know what they say Eren. When you fall off of a horse, you have to get right back on." _Armin rein-cited and he stood up, letting the blanket drop from his body. Eren shivered when the cold met the warm part of his body that Armin once was, and he huddled back into the blanket to stay warm.

_"I don't know what that means."_

_"It means that when you're afraid of something you love, you need to face it head on, or you'll be afraid of it for the rest of your life."_ Armin said. _"If I seriously stayed afraid of books, I would never love them as much as I do now."_

_"Armin. It was a paperweight book that fell on your head after the wind knocked it off of the windowsill."_

_"Hey, it was still traumatizing!"_ Armin whined as the two made their way inside.

_"So was the dead mouse I found in my shoe, but you don't see me walking around with just a pair of socks on!"_ Eren teased. Armin groaned and trudged down the hallway, disappearing behind the archway to the kitchen. Eren looked inside, and Mikasa was already setting the table, the food out and looking delicious.

When Mikasa cooked, she surely went all out.

"Everything looks great, Mikasa." Armin said as he sat down at his usual chair. Mikasa nodded her head, her usual apathetic expression set on her face, one that was normal for her when she and Eren weren't in a bitter rivalry. She looked up to see Eren standing in the archway, looking at the floor and nervously shifting his feet back and forth.

Mikasa sighed and smiled as she walked over to her brother. Seeing her legs prompted Eren to lift his head, watching her lifting her arms out for him. Eren gladly accepted the hug, softly laying his head down on his sister's shoulder and sighing quietly in her warm embrace. He vaguely felt the vibrations of her heart beating within her chest, and the sensation easily soothed his raged nerves.

When he felt a little nudge at his side, he regretfully lifted his head.  
Mikasa stood back a little and motioned to him with her hand. She placed it over her chest and rubbed, her apology serious by the look of regret on her face. Eren nodded his head and placed it down on her shoulder again.

"It's okay..."

* * *

Levi rubbed at his eyes, a groan escaping him in irritation. He bothered to look up from his book, only to find it pitch black outside. He chanced a glance at the clock, and he cursed to himself as he shut his book.

"Fuck, when did it get so late?" He questioned himself and slipped his book under the counter. "Tomorrow then..." He patted the book and sighed as he walked back to the office.

The door was cracked open, and when he looked inside, Hanji was out cold, sitting upright in his chair with her boot-covered feet on his desk. He internally grimaced as he walked over to her, picking up the fallen books on the floor that she had been reading. Leave it to her to read six lengthy books in one day; Levi could barely handle just one. He set the books aside on his desk and looked at her.

Regardless of her energetic personality when she was awake, her sleeping form was much like when she was awake; sprawled in all sorts of odd positions with drools hanging at the corners of her mouth, probably from excitement. What could she possibly dream about now that she didn't think of when she was awake? Wasn't it enough during the day to give her a peaceful night's sleep, unless this is what she called peaceful.

"Hanji!" Levi yelled at the top of his lungs. Hanji suddenly startled from her sleep, her legs kicking her away from the desk and knocking her to the floor where the books no longer lay. Levi then wondered if those books were there to break her fall in case something like that were to happen, but he didn't necessarily care at the moment. She was still making a mess.

"Oh shit, was that you, Levi?" She asked as she sat up, rubbing the small of her back from the impact.

"Yeah, you're sleeping on my shit." Levi growled and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Wow, I didn't know you could get that loud." She mused and stood up. As if the situation never happened, Hanji stretched her arms over her head, sighing when her back cracked in all of the right places. "_Hmm,_ what time is it?"

"Time for you to get a fucking watch."

"Really, Levi...? That's an old line."

"I'm an old man." Levi muttered as he picked up the chair she fell out of. "It's past eight, so we're open late. We need to go."

"Oh boy," The women mused and sauntered out of the office.

"Oh sure, leave me with your shit." Levi growled out.

"My revenge for you waking me up!" Hanji hollered from the store. Levi rolled his eyes and glanced at his desk, making sure nothing he needed was there. Usually nothing ever was, but there was something different this time.

"Hey, Hanji," Levi called out.

"Yes...?" Hanji poked her head back into the room, watching Levi pick up the little sticky note that was sitting against the office phone.

"What's this number?" He asked.

"Armin called earlier today. He said that was Eren's cell number, so text him when you're ready for another date." Hanji recalled the exact words the boy had said, and with that, she left the room again. This gave Levi some alone time to think about this.

This was Eren's cell number, and he had been given permission to text Eren. He momentarily thought it'd be polite to call him, but remembering that he couldn't hear, he thought against it. Why his own sister tried to call him in the first place was beyond his understanding.

However, the ball was now in Levi's court so to speak. He could take the bait and ask Eren when he'd be free for another date, or he could crumble the number up, throw it out, and act like this never happened. He never intended for things to get this far, and they weren't that far at all. It was still early, early enough to where he could simply say no and end it, but did he really want to? Eren was interesting, and it wasn't often when someone had the galls to stand up to him and yell. Eren was nowhere near normal, but maybe that's why he liked the kid, because everyone in the world was the same, and he stood out unlike any other.

Levi sighed. He pulled his phone out from his pocket and quickly dialed the number on the paper.

_"Hey, is this Eren's number?"_ He typed out and hit send. Just as his finger hit the button, his body froze. The message sent in seconds, and this left him questioning his decision. He hadn't thought everything through, and now it was too late.

"Levi, are you coming or what?" Hanji called out from the store. Levi stuffed his phone back into his pocket and tore up the note to throw away. He then shut off all of the lights in the office and locked the door.

"Coming," Levi said. Hanji offered his coat to him, and Levi took it and pulled it on quickly. It was getting too cold not to wear it. "Hey, can I ask a favor of you...?" He suddenly asked.

"Of course, anything for you. What do you need?" Hanji asked. Levi lingered on his question, remaining quiet as the two of them walked out of the store. Levi locked the doors, his head falling to rest against the cold glass, and Hanji hummed in confusion. "Levi...?"

"... Would you be willing to teach me sign language?" Levi asked, his breath a dense fog in the cold weather.

"Huh...?" She uttered in surprise. Levi stayed quiet, because he knew that her brain would form the correct response soon enough, and it did, though he was utterly terrified by the grin that spread her lips.

"Stop it."

"Sure, I can teach you, but I _am_ curious. This doesn't have anything to do with Eren, does it?" She asked and chuckled when Levi rolled his eyes.

"It could be useful in the near future." Bad choice of words.

"So you _do_ plan on seeing him again; I knew it." Hanji twirled on her feet and cheered in happiness, but Levi didn't see why. She wasn't the one with a date.

"Stop it, Hanji. I just want to talk to the kid without the use of a notebook, that's it." Levi groaned. Hanji continued to giggle and cheer behind him when Levi felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He pulled it out and looked at it, seeing the new number he had written out a few minutes prior.

_Eight fifteen p.m.:_

_"Yeah, who's this?"_

Levi sighed as he began typing. His only response was his name, and he hit send with the feeling of his heart fluttering afterwards. Little did he know that he wasn't the only one reacting so erratically; Eren was on his end jumping up and down on his bed at the thought that Levi had texted him.

"So will you do it or not?" Levi looked away from his phone and asked, but he was surprised by Hanji's face right by his, her eyes looking down at his phone. "Hanji!"

"Who are you talking to?" She asked as Levi stepped back.

"It's none of your Goddamn business." Levi growled and shoved his phone into his pocket. "Are you going to help me or not? Because I'll find someone else to teach me if you don't." He threatened and started walking to his car.

"No, no, I'll teach you. I have no problems with that." Hanji insisted with a grin. She walked over to her car and waved, and Levi rolled his eyes and turned to his own car to ignore her. "Tell Eren I said 'hi'!" Hanji yelled back at him before jumping into her car.

Levi scoffed as he got inside of his shitty car and turned it on to warm it up. It was freezing, and he hated it that his car took ten minutes before anything resembling hot air came out of the vents.

"I need a new fucking car." He grumbled to himself and leaned his head back into the seat. His phone went off in his pocket, and Levi momentarily forgot that he had been talking to Eren in the first place. He pulled out his phone to look at it, only to temporarily be blinded by the bright screen.

_Eight eighteen p.m.:_

_"How did you get my number? Not that it's a bad thing or anything like that, I was just confused..."_

Levi rolled his eyes. Even over a text message, the kid could ramble.

_"Your little friend, Arlert, ratted you out. He left your number and told me to text you and ask about another date."_ Levi hit send and leaned back again. He needed to get home and wash up before he fell asleep in his car. "Wouldn't be the first time though..." He muttered to himself. He was surprised by the phone going off again; Eren must have been fast at typying, because his message wasn't even a minute later.

_Eight nineteen p.m.:_

_"Wait, a date? You mean soon?"_

Levi's response was less than obvious.

_"No, ten years from now."_ Levi hit send and continued to type. _"I was talking about sometime this week, maybe Thursday again. I have off that day and Hanji is running the store, so we can do something earlier."_

Levi was tired of waiting for his car to warm up. With his seat belt securely fastened and his car in gear, he went straight there. He cursed at the red lights and the idiot drivers nearby, and he nearly flipped one off had it not been for the cop off to the side. He was just glad he didn't live so far away, or he'd have no choice but to speed. He couldn't afford another speeding ticket.

Truly. He could barely afford to feed himself.

When he got home, it was no surprise that there was a text from Eren. There was one from Hanji, and he decided against reading that first.

_Eight twenty-six p.m.:_

_"That'd be great! I usually finish my schoolwork at eleven, so anything after that is fine."_

Levi sighed, somehow relieved that Eren had said yes.

_"Thursday it is then. How does one sound?"_

Levi got out of his car and made his way to his apartment. He hated the place, but after a full day of mind numbing reading, the place was heaven, and his front door was heaven's gate. Upon opening the door, the clean and spotless apartment was a sight for his sore eyes. He made a b-line straight for his bed, and he didn't even bother changing into his pajamas. He stripped down until he was only in his undergarments and dropped to his bed. Of course he had his phone with him, and the thing buzzed twice while he was getting undressed, so it was only necessary to check his messages before passing out.

_Eight thirty p.m.:_

_"Sounds good. What are we going to do?"_

Levi sighed.

_"I hadn't really thought about it. You pick what you want to do and I'll go along with it. For now, I'm going to bed."_

If Eren wasn't so fast at texting, Levi would have been out like a light, but the buzzing in his hand was only a minor distract.

_Eight thirty-one p.m.:_

_"Okay. Sleep well, Levi."_

Levi's lips barely spread in a tired smile as he replied

_"You too, brat." _After hitting send, Levi was reminded that Hanji had sent him something. Levi knew that the chances of it being something really dumb and off topic were very high, but he had to check just in case.

The message was a photo with text under it. Levi remembered falling asleep at some point during the day, and Hanji had taken liberty to take a picture of his sleeping face with his books under him, one page stuck against his skin from sitting there so long. Levi's eyes twitched, and he was very afraid of what he was about to read.

_"I took the liberty of saving Eren's number in my phone. I'll send this to him in the morning. Ugh! You are too cute!"_

"I'm gonna kill her..." Levi grumbled, but he was too tired to truly care at the moment.

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**A/N: Ffuffles...**

**Coming soon to a computer screen near you... Most likely the one you're looking at now.**


	7. The Stories Behind the Drawings

**A/N: Yay~ Here's an update! I miss writing about these two idiots. XD Anyway, a quick question/request/favor from you, the awesome people who read my stories.**

**My fanfic "A Forged Wedding," is sooooo close to 1000 reviews on . I really want to hit that mark there, please and thank you. All I'm asking for is to please make a review if you haven't already, and in return, here is what I plan to do.**

**I plan to make a video of me saying "Thank you" and/or "I love you" in every single language to every single country my fanfic has been read in, and seriously, that's a lot of countries, you have no idea.**

**So please make a review so we can get to 1000 reviews! I would appreciate it so much, you have no idea! I really really really want to hit this goal! (Yes this is copied from my tumblr)**

**Okay. I'm done. XD**

**-Misty**

**Song of the day: Ain't Nobody**

**By: Yenny**

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**The Change You Wish to See****  
**

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**(Original summary, but screw the stupid character limits) Levi's never put much care into things. He doesn't put much care into things **_**at all**_**. Nothing ever peaks his interest. Well, that's until he meets Eren Jaeger. Levi isn't sure what it is that's so interesting about him, and it irritates him to feel these feelings he's never felt before. Regardless, he goes to talk to the boy. When he doesn't receive an answer, he just thinks that the boy is rude; however, he understands why when Eren doesn't answer him. Eren is deaf.****  
**

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**Rated M for sexual content, adult language, some violence, mile character death****  
****Main pairing: Riren with some side pairs****  
****Anime: Shingeki No Kyojin (Attack on Titan) **

**Chapter Seven: The Stories behind the Drawings****  
**

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That morning, for the first time in years, maybe even the first time in his life, Eren woke up with bounding energy.

He scurried about his room, juggling with finishing his damned homework and doing the chores Mikasa asked him to do, which consisted of taking out the trash and doing the dishes from dinner the night before. He took care of those first, just to get them out of the way, and then got straight to work with his schoolwork. It took a lot of coaxing just from himself to get working on it. If he didn't finish it on time, Mikasa would surely have his head. She specifically said that all of his work must be done before going anywhere. He couldn't risk pissing her off and having her permanently banning him from seeing Levi.

He was just so excited though. Not only was he allowed on a date with him, but Mikasa wasn't there, and she wouldn't be home until four. She couldn't keep him for an extra half an hour and she wasn't there to stuff pepper spray into his pocket and tell him to kick Levi between the legs if he tried anything. She was at school, and she couldn't necessarily leave to be there at one in the afternoon. Well, she could, but she would get in trouble, which she didn't want to do.

What could they possibly do for three hours? Would they spend the full three hours together, or would it be just another short walk and a fast food meal? Whichever one it was he didn't really care, he was just excited to get out of the house and see Levi.

So Eren blasted through his schoolwork like a mad man. What normally took him four or five hours to get done he did in two. It was met with no resistance and little whining, which Eren considered a serious achievement that day. When he was done and saw how much time he had left, the rest of his time was spent doing his chores, showering and trying to figure out what to wear. Obviously he needed something warm, but Eren didn't really do "fashion" in a way that would make him look good and keep him warm. Would Levi try to dress in a fancy way this time? He didn't last time, unless the white button up shirt with the first few buttons undone and black jeans were his way of dressing nice for an occasion.

Eren groaned as he flopped onto the pile of clothes on his bed. Before Levi he never cared for what he would wear or how he would act. All of this was already making him feel giddy and stupid, resembling one of those teenage school girls with a serious crush on someone she liked and wouldn't tell them, but he couldn't help it. The idea of getting out of the house didn't help any of it, or maybe that was what he was really excited for. Of course he was excited to see Levi again, but he was also excited for going somewhere that didn't consist of a one block radius by himself.

He groaned again before sitting up. No more acting like a school girl. No more beating around the bush. No more of these terrible puns he was trying to think up and make himself motivated on. He would just throw on something, brush his teeth so he didn't kill Levi with bad breath, and eat something light, because he forgot about his breakfast this morning.

Eren ended up in a pair of grey jeans and a green shirt with the laces at the color loosened. He definitely didn't bother with worries of what kind of underwear he needed. If he did, he would be insinuating something to himself, and Eren knew they were doing nothing like that so early into the relationship.

Did they even have a relationship?

Even after his time spent cleaning up, he still had an hour and a half left before Levi was supposed to come over. Eren groaned for the umpteenth time that day and grabbed at the vacuum. He'd make himself useful and help pass the time by cleaning, or doing anything if it meant getting to see Levi sooner.

A little while later, after he had vacuumed the whole house, put the dishes away, left some food out to defrost for dinner, and cleaned his room (the holy grail of dirty hell), he finally got a text message from Levi.

_Levi; twelve thirteen p.m.:_

_"Hey, I may be a little early. Is that okay?"_

Suffice it to say, it was more than okay. Eren heaved a heavy sigh of relief as he bounced around, excitement a lacking word for how happy he was before replying.

_"Of course!"_

He didn't know what was considered early for Levi though. Was he going to be two minutes early, or half an hour early? He hoped for the latter of the two, because he was too excited to sit still anymore.

Twenty some minutes later, Levi finally showed up. Eren had to restrain himself from bolting to his car and jumping the man to hug him, and it was difficult to do. He simply clutched his notebook between his arms and chest and slowly made his way over to Levi.

"Hi Levy," He said as Levi stepped out of his car. Levi looked up to him and nodded, his eyes instantly looking to the notebook Eren was holding. Eren offered it to him, and Levi took it gratefully to write in it.

_"I left my phone and money at my place, so we need to stop by there really quick. Is that okay with you?"_ He asked on the paper. Eren made a sound of approval and nodded his head, taking his notebook back and instantly climbing into the passenger's seat.

_"How far is your place?"_ Eren asked in his notebook.

_"Ten, maybe fifteen minutes from here. I'm stuck in the city."_ Levi wrote down after buckling up.

"Okay," Eren said and nodded his head. He remained quiet after that, looking out over the city with curious eyes as they drove. Levi had to keep his eyes on the road, but it was difficult when Eren had such a curious gaze. He was so innocent, so untouched, and it was rare to see someone like that in a world so messed up.

He would know.

When they got to Levi's apartment, Levi offered for Eren to stay in the car. His excuse was that the apartment building was run down and shitty, but Eren said it was fine. Levi took a deep breath as Eren jumped out from the car, and he got out at his own pace. Eren was ready to go though, barely keeping still as he waited for Levi. He couldn't hold still in the elevator, and Levi knew it was taking all of Eren's will power not to bolt down the corridor like a child.

_"What's your apartment number?"_ Eren asked with his notebook. Levi held up a finger to give himself a moment as he pulled out his keys from his pockets. Levi pointed three doors down to his door, and Eren practically jumped in place. Levi pulled the notebook from Eren's hands to write in it.

_"What are you so excited for?" _Levi asked. _"It's just my apartment."_

_"I don't know. I just am."_ Levi chuckled under his breath, knowing full well that Eren wouldn't hear it. He forced the key into the old lock and got his door open with little effort, to his surprise; normally it took a bloody battle to get it open.

"Wow," Eren sounded out when looking around his apartment. Levi smirked as he set his keys down for a moment, just to go on a man hunt for his phone. As Levi walked away, Eren bothered to step further inside and look around.

He wasn't sure what he was really expecting from Levi. It never even crossed his mind that he'd ever step foot into Levi's place, yet here he was.

The place was spotless, not a speck of dirt on the floor or one thing out of place. Already Eren could tell that Levi liked having things in a certain order, he liked his things to stay in their spots and stay clean, and knowing that, he made sure not to bump into anything or drag dirt in with his shoes. Instead, he spent his time admiring the living room or the impeccable kitchen. Sure the place was small, but it was truly a beautiful place.

"You have a nice place..." Eren uttered, hoping Levi would hear him. He wouldn't know if Levi did though, not without hearing his response, and of course he couldn't do that. However, Levi appeared within his view. Eren watched as Levi brought his hand up to his mouth, thanking him in sign language. Eren's heart gave a strange lurch within his chest at the sight of it, and unbeknownst to him, he had a terrible blush stretching from ear to ear. "Mhm..." He sounded.

Levi walked around a little more, lifting up papers and books to find his phone. He cursed, and with an irritated huff and a click of his tongue, he walked back to Eren and pulled his notepad from him.

_"Call my phone for me."_ He wrote down. Eren nodded his head and fished for his phone in his pocket. When he found it, he quickly dialed Levi's number. He looked to Levi for answers, watching as Levi stilled in his place by the television. He must have heard the cellphone ringing, though Eren couldn't hear a thing. He simply watched as Levi dug into his pocket, and after a moment, he pulled his hand out, his phone going off in his palm.

"I'm really am getting old..." Levi muttered to himself and hung up the call. Eren returned his phone to his pocket, watching as Levi release an exasperated sigh. Eren chuckled from where he stood, watching as Levi left the room, probably to look for his money next. Eren definitely couldn't help him with that one.

Instead, Eren bothered glancing around Levi's place again. He was still bewildered that a home could be so spotless, so clean; Eren knew his own room couldn't be as clean as this place was. He glanced over to the coffee table where Levi had been looking, seeing a few books stacked together on top of each other. Eren picked one up, hoping just to skim over it before noticing what was under it.

Eren set the book down and picked up the sketchbook that had been at the bottom of the pile. He eyed it curiously, debating whether he should look through it or leave it be. He didn't know if Levi could draw or not, if it was a hobby or something he did on the side to make money. He didn't know if Levi even liked to draw, so would he get upset if Eren looked inside?

Even if he knew the answer, his curiosity got the better of him. Eren flipped the little sketchbook open to look inside; needless to say, he was astonished.

Levi _could_ draw. His abilities were incredible, and looking at the pictures on the paper, Eren was at a loss for words and breath. Anything, whether it was a person or an animal, it was in the sketchbook, and all of it was beautiful. Some of it was drawn with pencil, some of it was drawn in pen, and Eren recognized some charcoal mixed in with it. The way he drew the emotions into the pictures took Eren's breath away, and he felt an odd sensation he hadn't felt in a while.

He felt like he wanted to cry.

Levi was incredible. How were his talents unknown? Why didn't he make a living drawing things instead of working in a book store? It just didn't make sense.

"Eren," There was a hand on his shoulder, making him jump and turn around. He hadn't heard Levi call out to him, or even when he walked into the room, so he was left terrified. Why was he terrified? What if Levi did get upset that he looked at his sketchbook? What if he got angry at him for looking through his stuff? He didn't want to upset Levi, not at all.

So when Levi's grey eyes fell to the sketchbook still in his trembling hands, Eren feared the worst.

"S-Sorry..." Eren muttered, looking away so he didn't have to look in his eyes. Levi reached out and took the sketchbook from him, and Eren stepped back, afraid to push his limits. Levi looked at his sketchbook, fingers turning the pages and dark eyes scanning the drawings. Eren wasn't sure what he was supposed to do; if he was supposed to apologize again or stay quiet.

Should he leave? If he had pushed the older man's limits, he might as well. He didn't want Levi to be mad at him.

Eren dared to look up and stare at him. He was met with a cold stare, a stare that made him drop his head in mutter an apology again. He saw Levi move forward, but he didn't bother looking up, even when Levi took his notebook from him to write in.

_"Why do you look like you are about to piss your pants?" _The words were written out on a blank piece of paper and slipped under Eren's eyes so he could read them. Eren lifted his head a little, catching Levi's eyes. He didn't look angry, just bored like he normally looked. Levi offered the notebook back to him, and Eren's hands continued to shake even when he took it.

_"I thought you'd be mad at me for going through your things." _Eren explained. Levi rolled his eyes in an annoyed manner before continuing on.

_"You're a kid, and you got curious. I'm not going to be mad about that."_ Eren eyed the paper with a sense of relief, along with confusion. He looked up at Levi, mildly surprised to see him so calm. Maybe it had been him that had overreacted?

_"You aren't mad?"_

_"I already said I wasn't." _Levi sighed as he set the sketchpad back down where Eren found it. Eren watched as Levi pushed the money he had found into his wallet, and a thought crossed his mind.

_"Do you draw often?"_ Eren asked with his notebook. Levi seemed a little deterred by the question.

_"No, not anymore. I used to when I was younger, but I stopped."_

_"Why?"_

This time Eren knew he pushed it too far.

_"It's none of your fucking business." _Levi didn't have to say it. Eren could feel the bite to his words just from the tension alone. He dropped his head and muttered his apology, and Levi sighed. He knew he had messed up that time.

He tapped at Eren's shoulder, prompting the kid to look up. When he did, Levi pulled his hand up to his chest and said his apology for him. Eren's lips spread in a bitter smile, one that Levi wasn't sure was good or bad.

"It's okay..." Eren mumbled as he moved to sit on the couch. Levi knew that he was lying; the kid was sensitive to things and people around him, so of course it wasn't okay. Levi didn't appreciate being lied to either.

"Eren," Levi said and took the notebook back from him when he sat down. _"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it, okay?"_

_"I said it was fine, didn't I?"_

_"Eren-" _Levi didn't have time to finish what he wanted to write. Eren snatched the notebook back from him, writing down quickly and furiously on his papers with a couple of small grunts.

_"Draw me something," _Eren quickly demanded and pushed his notebook into Levi's hands.

_"Eren, I don't dr-"_ Eren removed the pen from Levi's grasp, prompting him to look up. Eren flashed those gold eyes of his in a puppy dog look, and Levi groaned. "What do you want me to draw?" Levi asked when he got the pen back.

_"I don't know; something pretty." _Eren responded. Levi glared at him for a moment, prying with his eyes for another answer. What was he supposed to draw, and why something pretty? Pretty could have different meanings for different people. For example; Eren may think that flowers are pretty, while Levi thought that blood was pretty instead. Of course he didn't think that at all, but he needed some sort of argument to give to the kid.

However, just before he could write that argument to the kid, an idea struck him, and _hard._ It felt like someone whacked his head in with a lead pipe, and he was glad that this didn't hurt as much as that would have. He would know.

Levi's eyes looked over Eren's form: His big, gold eyes, where his bangs fell against his forehead, his square jawline, and his round cheekbones. His stare lingered on Eren for a moment longer to take in all of the detail he could before he turned the page, giving himself a fresh piece of paper to work from.

Even with a shitty pen and leaf paper, Levi began sketching out his idea. It wasn't easy working without a skeleton base he usually used, but he managed. Eren didn't notice it; he had been so distracted by Levi's hand creating magic that he didn't notice Levi's eyes on him every few seconds. Every now and again he'd look up at that face of his, looking over his features and mapping out what goes where. He only looked up though; he didn't move his head, knowing he'd tip Eren off to his idea.

It took a good, solid ten minutes before Eren started to recognize what it was he was drawing, and when he did, his eyes widened in surprise. He fingers reached out, just barely touching the edge of the paper where the drawing was, and Levi's hand stopped moving to look at him.

"It's me..." Eren mumbled. He looked at Levi, a blush dusting his cheeks and staining his skin when he noticed the heavy staring Levi was doing, then realizing that he had been doing it for a while. He swallowed and took the pen from Levi, his fingers shaking as he wrote. _"I thought you were going to draw something pretty..."_ Even his handwriting was shaky. Levi took the pen back, and he noticed the way Eren jumped when their fingers brushed.

_"I did."_ Levi replied. Eren's blush intensified, and knowing this, Eren looked away, hoping to hide it. He turned to the side a little, his hands clenching into fists in his lap, and Levi couldn't help but scoff at the kid's reaction. _"Well it's not like you're ugly." _Levi quickly recovered. "Brat," He muttered under his breath.

Levi leaned forward, touching the back of Eren's hand with cold fingers. Eren shivered in place while Levi came to hold his hand, his gold eyes looking up to meet the older man's.

It was Levi's turn to lose his breath. He didn't understand what it was, but something about this boy, whether it was his eyes or his personality made his heart flutter. It created a tightness within his chest that didn't seem to go away for days, and even when he thought about the kid, the sensations increased. So what was this now? He was just looking at the boy, wasn't he? If that was the case, then why was he feeling this way?

And why was he moving forward? Why was Eren leaning forward as well? Why was he lifting his head, as if searching for something?

He didn't have time to question it any further. When his lips pressed into Eren's soft, pink skin, all logical thought processes came to a screeching halt. All he could think about was the tender skin under his, or the way he knew for a fact that his cheeks were tinted just the slightest hue of red. It was awkward at first, what with both of their "expert" experience, and when their noses bumped together, it made them both pull away. Eren had the smallest hitch in his breath, his eyes wide, pupils blown way out of proportion, and his cheeks flushed red from ear to ear. Levi figured he must have looked the same way, if not by a little.

It was then that Levi was hit with a strong sense of realization.

He had just gotten his first kiss.

He had just gotten his first kiss from a nineteen year old, a mere child to him. The two of them had fifteen years of a difference between them. He was a mere child who was deaf, and he was taking complete advantage of him.

However, knowing this, Levi couldn't bring himself to care right now.

"Levy..." Eren mumbled. Levi lifted a hand and touched Eren's cheek, a simple gesture as the two took the chance to catch their breath. Levi recovered first, and he looked away to clear his throat. He lifted the pen he had momentarily forgotten about and began writing.

_"I'm sorry..." _He wrote down. Eren's face fell, and Levi knew he instantly took it the wrong way. _"No, not about that. We've been spending so much time here that I forgot that we had a date to attend."_

He needed to derail what was happening. He needed to prolong it, hold it back for some time so he could think.

"Oh..." Eren sounded, trying to take the pen back, but Levi wasn't done yet.

_"You wanted to do something today? It was your turn to pick, so what was it you wanted to do today?"_

_"Actually..."_ The brunette hesitated before he continued. _"I'm kind of fine here like this."_

_"Are you sure? We can go out and get pizza or something." _Levi suggested.

_"Order pizza for here, and we can watch some movies or something." _Eren shrugged his shoulders as he wrote down. Levi lingered on the words before looking up at him, silently questioning him. The kid couldn't hear, so why would he want to watch a movie? _"I like making up the things a person could say. It can get pretty funny when I do that. Besides, there are subtitles."_

Levi seemed to understand on some points, but others, such as watching a movie when one was deaf, didn't make sense. He nodded his head anyway, showing his understanding before pulling out his phone to call a nearby pizza place. After the two agreed on what they wanted, Levi ordered, and they continued their bickering, their next subject being movies.

_"The acting in that one sucks."_

_"Yeah, but the animation in the movie you picked sucks. What's worse, sucky animation that makes it hard to watch a movie or shitty acting?"_

_"Both make it hard to watch a movie." _

"_Eh, good point." _Levi accepted defeat after that, and the two ended up picking a movie that had relatively good animation of mid-class acting, which was considerably better than nothing. Though, in Levi's opinion, the movie still sucked.

They waited on the movie, waiting for the pizza to be delivered before they started watching it. When the pizza was delivered, the two ate in silence, all except for the TV that played the movie they agreed on. Levi had put on the subtitles for Eren, and he was surprised by how capable Eren really was. He didn't seem to miss a beat of the movie.

When someone told a joke, he understood and chuckled or laughed. He understood when someone was in pain or sad just from facial expressions or body positions, and he was five steps ahead of Levi on that one. Other's would pick up on the atmosphere by words, but Eren was able to read the situation far sooner by someone and how they were standing, walking, or looking at certain things. Eren picked up on things that were subtle gestures one wouldn't catch from words alone, and though Levi had seen this movie before, things made more sense to him now that he bothered to pay a little more attention to the positions the characters were in more than the words they were saying.

Eren truly was odd, but Levi had clarified already that the oddness was an admirable trait in Eren that made him likeable. He could no longer deny that he was growing a soft spot for the kid, but that was all his fault. He had plenty of chances to break off whatever this was beginning to take place, but he didn't.

Whatever happened between them now, Levi had no choice but to take blame for.

Halfway through the movie, with stomachs full and the movie playing a scene where someone inevitably screwed something over, the two of them fell asleep on Levi's couch. Eren had fallen asleep Levi's shoulder, Levi dozing off against the shoulder of the couch.

Positions like that could get tiring after a while, however.

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**A/N: Duuuuudes~ You guys are the best! I just looked, and I saw that I have 72 reviews on this fanfic! I love you guys, I really do. T^T**


	8. Over

**A/N: It's so obvious to say that you guys are going to hate me for this chapter. XD Anyway~ Hey~ Update~! Eremin week is over and we can return to normal~ XD**

**-Misty**

**Song of the day: The Ghost of Wind**

**By: ZE:A**

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**The Change You Wish to See****  
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**(Original summary, but screw the stupid character limits) Levi's never put much care into things. He doesn't put much care into things **_**at all**_**. Nothing ever peaks his interest. Well, that's until he meets Eren Jaeger. Levi isn't sure what it is that's so interesting about him, and it irritates him to feel these feelings he's never felt before. Regardless, he goes to talk to the boy. When he doesn't receive an answer, he just thinks that the boy is rude; however, he understands why when Eren doesn't answer him. Eren is deaf.****  
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**Rated M for sexual content, adult language, some violence, mile character death****  
****Main pairing: Riren with some side pairs****  
****Anime: Shingeki No Kyojin (Attack on Titan)**

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**Chapter Eight: Over****  
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Levi opened his eyes to a dimly lit room around him, a dimly lit room and a warmth spreading over his body. It was dark, but the movie was still playing on the TV; at least the menu was. Levi sighed as he rolled his neck around, the muscles under his skin cramped, tight, and strained from sleeping on the couch for so long. He hadn't done it in ages, and sleeping on his couch, the giant lump from his own hell with its springs sticking out every which way, was never a good idea.

Levi made his move to get up, but he came to find that he couldn't. He was momentarily trapped under deadweight that clung to his chest, one leg precariously between his in an innocent, but not so innocent for him, manner. Levi rubbed at his eyes to see what, or rather _who_ it was holding him down, and he found Eren sound asleep on top of him.

His grey eyes widened.

When did this happen?

Levi tried recalling what happened, and when the sound from the movie caught his attention, it all came flooding back to him.

The two of them ordered pizza and picked out a movie they could both agree on. Half way through the movie, Eren had dozed off against his arm. Without wanting to disturb the kid while he was sleeping, Levi managed to lay the boy down on the couch, but at a price. He somehow managed to do it with an arm trapped under the brunette's body. He tried pulling free, but Eren shifted, acting like he was about to wake up at any moment, which he didn't. Levi didn't want to wake him up, so he just fell asleep behind the boy, trying to enjoy what was left of the movie. Of course, he fell asleep minutes later.

This left him here, with Eren on his chest and sleeping like a baby. Levi leaned his head back to look at Eren's face, his fingers unconsciously brushing his bangs from his face and tucking what he could behind a tan ear. With Eren sleeping so peacefully, Levi took it upon him to skim his fingers along his square jawline and against his cheek. His skin was incredibly soft, something Levi didn't notice before. Levi couldn't resist letting his finger grace over Eren's cheek bones and eyelids. The movement made Eren's eyes twitch in his dream, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips, but he didn't wake up. Levi's heartbeat picked up in speed by a few paces, and when his fingers came to his lips, Levi's hand faltered.

They had kissed. Levi got his first kiss from him. Levi got his first kiss from a nineteen year old brat with a hearing disability. Most people in society would expect him to be taking advantage of him, but he wasn't.

He really did like Eren; he wouldn't be spending time with the kid if he didn't. Levi wouldn't spend time with someone he didn't like, which was why Hanji was the only person he could consider his friend. Yes, he found her annoying, but he didn't hate her. She was the only friend he had left. So for Eren to work his way under his skin; that meant something.

That couldn't happen.

Levi knew better. He knew that this wasn't a good idea. From the beginning it wasn't a good idea, and everything had been telling him so since day one. Eren was young, innocent, and deaf; he was bright, lively, energetic, smart, and too kind for his own benefit. It was wrong of him, because he knew how this looked. He knew how everyone would look at them, how they would see the age difference and the abnormality of their relationship. Levi knew, and he knew it was wrong.

He knew he needed to end it. It was still early enough, wasn't it? They weren't so attached to each other that it would hurt to end whatever relationship this was now, right? Or maybe he was wrong. Maybe Eren thought highly of him. Maybe Eren really liked him.

Or maybe it was the other way around.

Levi didn't have any more time to question things. Eren shifted in his sleep, his eyelids twitching gently again before fluttering open, revealing his big, golden eyes. Levi felt a wave of unknown heat wash over him, his throat tightening around itself until he swallowed.

He couldn't do it, not now at least. How could anyone break the heart of someone with such a peaceful face? He definitely couldn't do it. He'd have to do it later, later when Eren wasn't disoriented with sleep, and later when those big eyes of his weren't drowning him in the depth of an unknown affection.

"Mhm..." Eren hummed and stretched as far as Levi's body would allow. Levi wrapped his arms around the kids body when he tilted to the side, keeping him rooted on the couch. Eren's eyes found his, a look of confusion evident on his face. He looked around for a moment, trying to decipher what had happened to put them in this position like Levi had done. His focus came to the movie and the half eaten pizza on the coffee table, and a smile played on his lips as he looked back at Levi.

The barest of smiles pulled at the corners of Levi's lips, his hand reaching up to ruffle Eren's untamed bed hair. Eren practically purred like a kitten, his head falling back against the older man's chest as he let out a sigh. That warm breath caressed Levi's skin, causing him to shiver for reasons he didn't understand.

"Morning..." Eren mumbled against Levi's shirt. Levi couldn't verbally respond, knowing Eren wouldn't hear it, but he nodded his head. The physical response was just enough for Eren. Eren lifted his head back up and looked at Levi, his smile widening as a blush dusted his cheeks. Levi shifted, skeptical of that look.

What was the kid planning?

His question was answered quickly. Eren leaned up to peck Levi's lips in a simple kiss, and though simple, Eren's cheeks lit up in colors Levi hadn't seen on a person before. He became shy quickly, eyes averting to the table, the floor, anything but Levi as he wet his lips in a nervous habit.

Well, Levi could have reacted better. He could have reacted _at all_. He was so dumbfounded by the suddenness of the kiss that he wasn't sure how to react to the situation, or if he should react at all. However, when Eren looked up at him with worried eyes, all he could do was smile. He couldn't let Eren worry.

Of course, now he was forgetting the plan he had moments before. Looking at the kid made him forget about everything, and for the time being, he didn't want to lose him. So he would just smile for now, because there was nothing else he could do.

Eren's hand lifted, fingers pressing into Levi's chest gently and moving around. Levi thought the kid was just doodling nonsense at first, but then he realized that Eren was trying to talk. With his notebook off somewhere where they didn't want to get up and get it, this was Eren's only way to talk to him.

_"Did you sleep well?"_ He finally made out. Eren lifted his head to see if Levi understood, and with a nod of the head, he released a small sigh of content. However, well had been an understatement. Levi felt like he hadn't slept so well in all of his life, and even with the kink in his neck, it fell like all of the fatigue and the soreness left his body for the time being. Only time would tell if the soreness would kick back in.

Levi motioned for Eren's hand, and Eren held it out for him so Levi could mock write on it.

_"How about you?"_ Eren nodded his head when understanding. With the silent agreement that everything was fine between them, Eren lowered his head back down on Levi's chest and moved his fingers back and forth, this time uselessly doodling random things. Levi leaned his head back against the arm of the couch, his eyes looking around the room for the clock. He had to make sure he kept check on the time, fearing the consequences of them being late. His eyes couldn't seem to find it in the dark though.

And then it hit him.

It was dark.

Levi felt a surge of panic hit him, the blood running cold through the veins in his heart as he looked to the digital clock next to his TV. It read eight thirteen, and Levi would have jumped from the couch had it not been for Eren's heavy body lying on top of his. Eren whined in protest and pain, his spine bending in an odd way before he rolled off of Levi. He looked up to the older man, silently questioning him as Levi looked about frantically.

"What's wrong?" He asked and sat up, and Levi looked back at him with a look of panic. Without saying anything, Levi pointed to their surroundings and the clock not too far away. The darkness didn't phase Eren any; it was when he looked at the time that he began to fear the worst. "Oh no!" He cried and jumped up.

Levi stood and grabbed at the brunette's arm, stopping him from running around in a frantic state. When he got Eren's attention, Levi pulled his hand up to his ear, mimicking the shape of a phone.

"Where's your phone?" Levi asked out loud. Eren didn't need to hear to understand what he was asking. He was able to read his lips enough, and the symbol Levi was making with his hand was self-explanatory. Eren grabbed at his backpack that had been sitting by the front door and tugged it back to the couch. He instantly dug around inside the front pocket, and the sudden vibrations he felt reaching his fingertips made his eyes widened.

He pulled his phone out and looked at it; sure enough, Mikasa's name was on the caller ID. Eren's panic hit him full force; he always kept the ringer off so he could feel his phone going off, but now that only seemed to have gotten them into trouble. Eren lifted the phone and whined, getting Levi's attention, who had been looking for his keys so they could leave. The older man caught sight of the name on the phone, and he took up the tiny device to answer it.

"Hello, Mikasa?" He questioned.

_"Who is this?"_ Levi heard the bitter panic in her voice. It didn't take a PHD in fucked to know that they were both utterly fucked.

"It's Levi. Listen, we-"

_"Where's Eren?"_ Mikasa didn't give him a chance to explain. She cut him off quickly, her voice going from fear to anger in point three seconds flat. _"You son of a bitch! Where is he?"_

"Just listen!" Levi had no choice but to yell over her. "We fell asleep while we were watching a movie! He's right here and he's fine, and we're heading there now!"

_"I'm giving you five minutes to get back here, bastard."_ Eren's sister growled.

"I live fifteen minutes away from-" Levi heard the dial tone play, an obvious sign that she hung up on him. She wasn't going to listen to reason or excuses, and he knew that. He sighed and handed Eren his phone before ushering the boy out of the apartment.

They had five minutes to drive fifteen minutes back to his house. Levi thought that if he sped ten miles over the speed limit and ignored all red lights, they could pull it off.

Of course the universe had other plans.

Levi had never stopped at so many red lights in his entire life, and it seemed like there was nothing but police on the streets. It took twenty-five minutes to return home, and when they did, Mikasa was already waiting on the porch, anger fuming off of her lithe frame. Levi heard the quiet whimpering Eren was doing; obviously he was mortified by what was about to happen.

The two got out of the car, and Mikasa charged her way over to them. She grabbed Eren's arm and pulled him away, forcibly pulling Eren back to the house despite his protests.

"It was an accident! We fell asleep!" Levi tried to explain, but Mikasa was having none of it.

"He shouldn't have been at your apartment in the first place!"

"I left my money there! We were going to go get pizza, but we just decided to stay!"

"Mikasa!" Eren whined and pulled on his arm for freedom. Mikasa's grip was firm though, firm and unrelenting, and no matter how much Eren fought with her, even to the point where he was on the ground in protest, she wasn't going to let go.

"Hey, hey! What's going on?" Armin had appeared from the house, jumping off of the porch so he could catch up to them. He already noticed the tension of the situation, but Armin was level-headed through almost anything. If anyone understood what was going on, it'd be Armin, and Eren knew that for sure.

"Armin, talk some sense into her." Levi begged, already too tired to continue arguing. Mikasa was much like her brother; she was thick-headed and stubborn, and in a situation like this, that wasn't a good thing.

"I don't need anyone talking sense into me!" Mikasa barked, her grip on Eren's wrist tightening considerably. Eren muffled a small sound of pain, which didn't go unnoticed by Armin's eyes.

"Mikasa, let him go. You're hurting him." Armin said calmly and pulled at her wrist. The kid seemed to have a certain something about him, something in his voice or the earnest look in his big, blue eyes, but he was able to free Eren, and Mikasa seemed to calm down about eighty degrees. How Armin could defuse a situation like that just by talking, Levi would never understand.

"Thank you..." Eren mumbled. Armin smiled and nodded his head before looking back at the two bickering adults standing before him.

"Okay, someone explain to me what's going on." He said, just as calmly as he had before.

"These two have been at his place the whole time!" Mikasa's voice was bordering on yelling, but Armin motioned for her to lower her voice before the neighbors tried to get involved. That had happened already once this year where Eren and her were in an argument, and they didn't need it happening again.

"You've been at his place the entire time?" Now Armin seemed a little upset by the news, and Levi cursed at his luck.

"It was an accident." He said through gritted teeth.

"These two-!" Mikasa began, but Armin hushed her before he could continue.

"One of you explain to me what's going on." He commanded and pointed to Eren and Levi.

"Eren and I fell asleep on my couch while we were watching a movie, and we woke up about half an hour ago. It was an accident." Levi explained.

"He shouldn't have been at your place." Eren's sister suddenly growled.

"If you really thought I had fucked your brother, don't you think it would have been obvious?" Levi spoke up and asked, though he could have been less blunt about it. Mikasa practically lunged at him, but Armin grabbed at her arm and pulled her back. Levi didn't even seem threatened let alone scared by the attempt. "Sex is obvious, isn't it? I didn't sleep with your brother in that way, so get you head out of the Goddamn gutter!"

"Screw you!" Mikasa bit out.

"Stop it!" Eren begged the two. His obvious sadness seemed to defuse the situation, if only for a moment. Mikasa and Levi saw the look in his glassy eyes, as if he was about ready to cry, and maybe he was. That was enough to get them to stop.

"Alright, that's enough." Armin released Mikasa from his death grip to help Eren up to his feet. When Eren was up, Armin began signing to him, questioning on what happened. Levi watched Eren sign, his hands in a frantic blur. Levi didn't even understand how Armin could read any of his signals when they were that fast, but he seemed just fine following along. Eren was making small grunting sounds, obviously frustrated with everything, and Levi felt bad. He couldn't control his own anger for five minutes to make sure Eren was alright.

"Alright, Eren, it's okay." Armin soothed while touching Eren's neck. Levi thought the motion was weird at first, but seeing how just a simple touch seemed to calm Eren down, he thought differently about the gesture. There was still a lot he didn't know about the kid, and a lot more that Armin knew about him. He wasn't sure why he felt threatened by that. "Mikasa, they're telling the truth."

"How can you be so sure?" Mikasa asked. Armin turned to look over his shoulder, a small smile on his lips, though it was goofy and a little crooked. He knew himself why that was though, and it was probably because what he was about to say was going to upset Mikasa.

"Because Levi is right." He admitted. "Even if they were lying, it'd be obvious. Besides, why would Eren lie to us?"

"Because Levi told him to." Mikasa tried to accuse, but Armin gave her a look that asked if she was being serious.

"You know Eren wouldn't do that. He'd tell us." The tension seemed to dissipate into nothing now. Mikasa's anger seemed to be placed with an odd sense of relief, like Armin was the only person she could believe in this world, though she was still livid with the older man and Levi was just relieved now that the problem was averted. He'd have to thank Armin for settling their issues later when he got the time.

"Whatever..." Mikasa scoffed and looked at her brother. "Eren, you're grounded for the next two weeks." She signed to him. Eren's only response that Levi could make out was a sound of surprise and distress before he began signing, trying to get his way out of his punishment. "No, Eren, no. You should have kept your phone on you."

"Hey, M-Mikasa," Armin tried to intervene.

"I don't care. You should have known better." Mikasa wasn't listening to him. She wasn't listening to anyone, and she wasn't going to listen. Why did she have to be so stubborn about this?

"Mikasa-" Eren tried again, but she wasn't going to listen.

"No, Eren." She wasn't going to budge, was she? No, she definitely wasn't, and when Eren knew it, it wasn't the most gratifying thing in the world. It was the easiest way to put him down, and anyone who knew Eren knew it well.

"I hate you!" Eren shouted, his hands balled into fists by his side. A look of pain, both physically and mentally, came across Mikasa's face. Though she tried to hide her pain by looking away, it was utterly obvious. Her black eyes became red, tears lining at the edges of her lashes. Why she tried to hide it didn't make sense, but it didn't matter to Levi.

He wasn't going to tolerate that.

"Oi, brat!" Levi grabbed at Eren's arm and pulled him away, putting a good amount of distance between them and his family. Eren didn't try to pull away from Levi, but when he saw the look on Levi's face, a look of anger, he faltered. Levi reached for Eren's backpack and yanked it open to grab at his notebook. _"Brat, what do you think you are doing?"_ He wrote down.

_"She started it!"_ Eren accused, a groan leaving him as he stomped like a child, which he was essentially.

_"I don't care! I'm ending it,"_ Eren looked at the words with worry, his confusion showing quickly. He looked up at Levi, trying to voice his confusion, but it seemed that he quickly got the idea of what he meant when it seemed to flash across his eyes.

_"What do you mean?"_ Eren's hand shook lightly as he wrote, as if he was slowly figuring out what was about to happen. Maybe he was trying to deny it to himself, or maybe he was showing his confusion. Either way, the realization was sinking in, and it was happening fast.

_"Eren, that's your sister, and this is your family. You only have her and Armin, and I'm not going to be the reason for messing with you guys."_ Levi let out a huff of annoyance, a strange twinge of pain in his chest as he wrote the words. Why was this upsetting him so much?

_"What does that mean?"_

_"Eren, you're a good kid, and I really do like you, but I'm not coming between you and your family."_ After Eren read the words, Levi could see how his eyes became glassy. Knowing that he was going to make the kid cry was one thing, but he had to break his heart. This was his family, the only family he had as far as Levi knew. He didn't know about parents, grandparents, or distant family, but it didn't matter.

He wouldn't mess with any of it.

"L-Levy..." Eren mumbled with a stutter. Levi slowly handed the notebook back to Eren, who took it with shaking hands. Levi reached up and touched the boy's slightly red cheek, his fingers drawing lines under his eyes. One tear managed to worm its way from his watery eye, slipping to Levi's cold skin before Levi could wipe it away. He stood up on his toes, momentarily cursing himself for being so short before kissing the side of his cheek where the tear fell. When he pulled away, it seemed like the kiss only caused more trouble for Eren, who produced more tears.

"I'm sorry..." Levi signed to him and whispered. Eren's gaze drifted to the ground, and as Levi started to walk away, it didn't lift again. Levi got back in his car, daring one last peek at the family outside.

He should have known better than to do that.

With his head hung low, Eren slowly made his way back to his family. Levi couldn't see the brunette's face with his back turned to him, but even from this distance, he could see the subtle shivers in his shoulders, shivers that only would come from crying. Mikasa was still upset by the previous admission from Eren, but she tried to console him. He didn't want to hear it from her, but Armin had better luck, only touching Eren's shoulder in a silent apology for him.

Armin must have understood. He was bright, and after something like that, he must have known about what Levi had told him. He must have known, and with the quick side glance he did, Levi knew that Armin was silently angry with him for hurting his friend. He wouldn't voice it, wouldn't even show it in front of Eren, but he knew. All he did was pat Eren's back, no words leaving his lips and his hands stagnant where they were. Eren thanked the blond for trying, and turning his head gave Levi the only opportunity to see Eren's face.

And he really was crying.

Had he really broken his heart?

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**A/N: I know! I know~! I promise I have a method to all of this madness! Don't pick characters (And I know who you're picking) to hate yet! We aren't done! X'D**


	9. Autumn Winds

**A/N: Hellooooooo~! I know, I missed last week. Good explanations! However, I've said this once before on my tumblr. XD If you don't follow me already, and you don't have to, you can go look for me as "mistyhollowpro." Like I said, you don't have to follow me, but it's there so you have updates on my stories and you know why they're late. xp I'm very busy though, and teeeechnically I'm supposed to be studying right now. I'm not, but that's what I'm supposed to be doing. XD Anyway, have an awesome week!**

**-Misty**

**Song of the Day: One More Night**

**By: Maroon 5 (I think this is the first song I've ever posted that's from an American band. X'D)**

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**The Change You Wish to See****  
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**(Original summary, but screw the stupid character limits) Levi's never put much care into things. He doesn't put much care into things **_**at all**_**. Nothing ever peaks his interest. Well, that's until he meets Eren Jaeger. Levi isn't sure what it is that's so interesting about him, and it irritates him to feel these feelings he's never felt before. Regardless, he goes to talk to the boy. When he doesn't receive an answer, he just thinks that the boy is rude; however, he understands why when Eren doesn't answer him. Eren is deaf.****  
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**Rated M for sexual content, adult language, some violence, mile character death****  
****Main pairing: Riren with some side pairs****  
****Anime: Shingeki No Kyojin (Attack on Titan) ****  
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**Chapter Nine: Autumn Winds**

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Levi didn't see Eren again until late into October. He didn't get any text messages, and he didn't get any calls. Armin stopped coming by too, and without the two of them visiting the bookstore every few days, it became quiet. He didn't bother trying to text or call, especially _call_. He knew Eren wouldn't be able to hear him anyway, and texting just left an open window. This left him completely alone with barely anyone to talk to. The only chance he got to talk to someone was Hanji, who was continuing her lessons on sign language with him.

He had explained to her that he didn't need it, that he and Eren would continue to use a notebook (because she didn't know that he broke up with the kid), but she insisted, saying that it didn't matter if it was for Eren or not. Sign language was a useful skill to have, and he couldn't really disagree with her on that one. So he gave in willingly to her and continued the lessons.

They were never very long, maybe fifteen minutes or so, but Levi would rather take a fifteen minute lesson than an hour lesson. What Hanji could pack into a measly fifteen minutes was astounding, something a professor would put into an hour with great detail, but he'd never show the surprise. Lessons from her were challenging enough, and the further into them and into the language they got, the more confusing it soon became.

"Levi, this is important! It's not just about the hand signals; facial expressions help communicate a lot more than you realize!" Hanji bellowed while trying to get the older man's attention. Levi rolled his eyes and looked away from the broom in his hands to look at the women.

"Hanji, any other time is fine, but I've got shit to do right now." Levi groaned and rolled his eyes. The woman was persistent though; he wasn't really sure if that was a good or a bad thing.

"Just this one thing." Hanji said. "Come on, it's important." When she flashed her outdated puppy-dog look, Levi groaned in defeat. Her look was nowhere near as good as Eren's, and it definitely didn't work, but she wouldn't leave him alone until he listened. He figured that the sooner he got this over with, the sooner he can sweep away the leaves from outside.

"Fine," He sighed and leaned against the pole of the broom for leverage. He wasn't going to stand on all of his weight if he had to listen to this, and he was going to do his damn best to get his point across.

"Perfect! Okay, so we're coming off on 'don't like' now. This one is important, because it's similar to 'like,' but has that extra step, and, of course, the facial expressions." Hanji explained with a beaming smile. Levi's response was one he always had: A blank expression with a long frown on his thin lips. "We're going to need extra time for your facial expressions."

"Get on with it, shitty glasses." Levi ordered and threatened to hit her with the broom.

"Okay, okay! So do you remember the signal for 'like'?" She asked. Levi pulled his hand up to his chest, pressed his middle finger and thumb together, and held his hand in place.

"That, right?" The older man asked.

"Perfect!" Hanji praised him with enthusiasm. "Now, do you remember the alternative?" She asked. Levi's answer was the alternative way of signaling it, and Hanji nodded her head approvingly. "Right. This is where facial expressions come in though."

"It's not just 'like,' it has to be with an expression. '_I don't like that, I do like that. I like you, I don't like you. What do you like?' _These are all really important."

"Uh huh..." Levi had a feeling that she mentioned the "like you" pieces just to mess with him. Truly she was a sadistic woman hidden behind her goofy glasses.

"Levi, it's serious. Think about it; when Eren signed something, weren't his emotions worn on his sleeve?" Hanji asked. At the mention of his name, Levi looked down at the hairs of the broom he was still leaning on. The silence that fell over them was engrossed with tension, and Hanji knew that she had pushed all of the wrong buttons for him.

Levi had been rather touchy about the subject of Eren since their last date, but Levi never said why. He didn't say where they went or what they did; granted, he didn't say anything about their first date either, but this time he wasn't trying to torture her. All Hanji knew was that neither Eren nor Armin had been to the book store since then, and that Levi just didn't want to talk about it.

"... I'm going to clean outside..." Levi mumbled and collected his broom. He left a very quiet Hanji to herself inside to finish her previous job of... Whatever it was that the women had been doing before she decided it was time for his lessons. He had an important job to do, and that was getting all of the fallen leaves off of the sidewalk in front of the store and give it a somewhat "respectful" appearance. It was a bookstore, so there wasn't much to the appearance, but he appreciated it if it was organized.

Once outside with his sweater zipped up, Levi took a moment to gaze at the surroundings, having nothing better to so. The leaves had fully changed in an array of colors: Yellows, reds, browns, and oranges, and most of them were dropping to the ground at an alarming rate. A tree had been growing next door at a small gift shop, and its branches leaned over the fence dividing the two stores just enough to drop all of its annoying leaves on the sidewalk, _his_ sidewalk. Every year it became a challenge to clean the damn things up, and no matter how much he swept them up, there was always more. This situation was much like his complaining; no matter how much he complained, no one did a damn thing.

Levi sighed and bunched up the white scarf around his neck even tighter. It wasn't as cold as it had been in September, but it was damn near getting to it. It wasn't even this bad early in the morning when he got up; hell, it was colder in his own apartment than it was outside. He was forced to pull out a portable heating unit he kept in his closet for when the heating in the damn building didn't work, and at this point in time the heat hadn't been turned on yet. That just said how cold it was.

Regardless, Levi positioned the broom in his hands and forced it through the first trudge of leaves. There must have been dozens of leaves on the ground already, and it was only eleven in the morning. Hadn't he swept up already when they first got there? He was sure he did, but maybe he hadn't. Or maybe he had and the neighbors wouldn't cut the branches off of their damn tree.

"Fucking hell..." He quietly cursed to himself. As Levi continued to sweep up the leaves into what was becoming a massive pile growing taller than him, people walked by with their everyday lives. Levi was no stalker; of course not, but he entertained himself with watching the people walking by and listening to their conversations. Some of them were funny, others were rude, and others he just didn't need to hear.

"Dude, she was fucking wild! I'm talking something from a fucking porn movie wild!"

"Why can't I get action like you? You make it seem so fucking easy."

"Maybe because you openly talk like that when there are kids around." Levi wasn't one to interject his thoughts into a private conversation, but these two men were going off like they didn't care that a little girl and her mother were just exiting the gift shop next door, and obviously the mother didn't appreciate their language. Needless to say that they were both flabbergasted, and who would pick a fight with someone who looked like Levi? Sure, he was small, but his expressions made up for it.

And Hanji said he needed to work on that.

When the revolting men were gone, and the woman had thanked Levi for butting in, Levi decided against continuing his ease dropping. It only kept his mind occupied for so long, and when people weren't walking by, his mind wandered elsewhere. He previously reprimanded himself for thinking that way, for thinking about _him_, but maybe that wasn't so healthy. Maybe he needed to think about Eren in order to get over him.

"Damn it..." Why did he need to get over him in the first place? They had been on two dates, and both were so simple that it really was like friends hanging out. Beyond the kisses they shared, most consisting of being on the cheek, everything was innocent. It was still early enough to not get attached to the kid, so why was he so stuck on this kid? Why had it been almost a month and he was still hung up on him?

It didn't make sense. It just didn't make sense. Why was he still thinking about him after _a month_? Why couldn't he close his eyes without an image of him appearing in the dark?

Maybe it was what he saw the last time he saw him. Maybe it was the tears. Maybe it was the broken and defeated look in his eyes that plagued him so often, even in his sleep.

Maybe it was the guilt. That had to be it. It had to be the guilt that was making him feel this way. Levi always had a guilty conscious, so it was highly possible that he just felt bad for breaking the poor kid's heart.

That had to be it. It was the only explanation he had for why he felt this way. If it wasn't the reason, then Levi truly had no idea why he was like this. He wasn't about to ask Hanji about it, because he would never hear the end of it if he did, but he was at a loss for what else he could do.

Levi sighed as his focus came back to the task at hand. He had been so unconscious to the world outside of his mind that he hadn't even realized that he had a totally blank expression on his face while he had been sweeping, and he had been sweeping in the same exact spot for lord knows how long. He inwardly cursed at himself; had he really been so focused on Eren for so long that he made a tiny little pile of leaves sitting next to the giant one he swept up half an hour ago?

"This is total bullshit." He growled and tossed the broom into the big pile of leaves. He knew better than to let his mind wander, but he let it happen anyway, and now he was standing outside looking like a fool to whoever walked by. Of course he knew better than to toss away a perfectly good broom into a pile of leaves as well. Now he was the one acting like a child, and he released a heavy sigh of defeat as he picked the broom back up.

It would probably be better for Hanji to do this. Levi thought he could clear his mind by going outside, but obviously it wasn't helping. He needed to get back inside anyway; it was as cold as hell, and his flimsy sweater wasn't enough to keep him warm anymore.

He could lose himself in books instead. Books were a way into another world, where fictional characters had problems that made more sense and the answers were written out, but the answers weren't there until Levi finished reading the story. That's probably why he, as well as Eren and Armin, read so much. It was just an escape into another world, a world he was desperate to find right now.

So, with that goal in mind, he was perfectly okay with going inside. However, a little tug to the back of his sweater stopped him. Levi lifted his stare from the pile of leaves to look behind him, and he wasn't sure anymore if God existed or not at this point. If he did, he really loved to fuck with him.

There behind him stood Eren, covered by a heavy jacket and gloves with his backpack in its normal place. His notebook was trapped between his arms and chest again, and the moment their eyes met, his big eyes averted to the ground, his cheeks already a deep, red color. That could have been the cold though, so Levi paid no mind to it. After not seeing the boy for a month, his eyes were instantly sweeping over the kid, searching for anything different about him. Nothing was of course, minus his hair being a few centimeters longer and the utter shyness he felt towards Levi. Why would Eren be shy around him?

Oh yeah, Levi broke up with him.

"Eren..." Levi mumbled. It wasn't for catching the kid's attention; it was out of his own surprise. What was Eren doing here? It was a weekday, and he wasn't supposed to be here without Armin. With a quick glance around, it was obvious that the blond wasn't here, which meant Eren was alone.

Eren managed to look up, eyes shying away a few times as he stood there. Levi wasn't sure if he was supposed to make the first move and question the kid, but how could he when Eren had his notebook. Levi's signing skills weren't strong enough yet to question Eren's behavior, leaving him totally blind to the situation.

"Uhm..." He hummed, hoping to figure out what it was he was supposed to do. Before he could come up with an answer, however, Eren's arms finally seemed to pry themselves away from his chest, long enough at least to hold out his notebook. Levi looked up at him, trying to catch his stare, but whenever Eren's eyes met his, he looked away. This left Levi with nothing to lead him, no clues to follow as he took the notebook from Eren.

The notebook was already open, leading his eyes to the dirty, white paper inside, paper with words already written down in it. There were multiple scribbles in the book, areas where it looked like the paper and been worn away with an eraser and pencils. Levi looked up at Eren again, but when the boy didn't do anything, didn't sign or speak to him, it occurred to him that he was supposed to read the words written down on the paper.

_"Sorry for what happened last month. My sister gets protective of me, and she forgets sometimes to act polite around people..."_ Levi began reading. He looked up again, just to make sure that it was okay to so this. When Eren didn't say anything against it, his grey eyes fell back onto the paper. _"And I'm... Sorry for what happened..."_

There were a few sets of scribbles, effectively blocking out what must have been Eren's previous attempts to explain what he wanted to say.

_"I know you kind of broke up with me, and I know why, but... I would still like to be friends at least. I like hanging out with you, and I like being around you, so... If you don't hate my guts by now, hopefully we can be friends...?"_

Levi lifted his grey eyes back to Eren again. The brunette was fidgety, shifting back and forth on his feet, his fingers twiddling into fists by his sides. His cheeks were even darker than before, an obvious sign that it wasn't just the cold, but embarrassment as well. Or maybe it was

Levi held the notebook out, prompting for another response from him. What he got in lieu of one, instead of an explanation or a pen so he could talk to him, Eren simply nodded his head and turned around.

"Bye, Levy..." He mumbled. Levi was no less than surprised; Eren was leaving? Hadn't he said he wanted to be friends? So why was he suddenly leaving without Levi getting the chance to explain himself.

"Oi, Eren!" Levi called out and grabbed at his shoulder. He spun Eren around, catching the kid by surprise and knocking his notebook from his hand. Eren quickly bent down to retrieve it, but so had Levi, resulting into the two bumping heads rather hard.

"Ouch...!" Eren whined and rubbed his head. Levi ignored the sting he felt radiating from the new forming bruise on his forehead to yank out a pen of his own, one he had hidden in the pocket of his apron buried under his jacket. He forced the notebook open to a blank page so he could have a fresh start with something at least.

_"Come get a coffee with me." _He wrote down and showed it to Eren. He somehow seemed even more embarrassed by the words, and Eren pointed to himself, as if trying to be sure. Levi nodded, confirming it, and Eren looked away.

"N-No... It's not... A good idea..." He mumbled quietly under his breath. Levi scoffed before grabbing Eren's wrist and yanking him forward. Eren protested from behind him, but after a few useless pulls, some dragging of his feet, and a few attempts to free himself, Eren gave in. He began walking behind Levi, letting himself get pulled along by the older man to the nearest place to get coffee, the one they had gone to before.

Levi didn't let go of him. Once in line, Eren began fidgeting some more, shifting from side to side, balancing on one foot and then the other. Levi wasn't one to care for staring, but he needed a clear mind, and he needed to think. Levi motioned for Eren to sit at the same booth they had sat at before, and with a small whine, Eren did. This gave Levi the time to think while he waited in line and while he ordered.

He got the same thing as last time, because he didn't want to waste time thinking too much about a cup of coffee and water. When he got his things and sat down by Eren, he could already feel the tense atmosphere. It didn't help that Eren had his head down again, his eyes downcast and his hands gripping at his notebook in his lap like it was a safety raft. Levi set his bottle of water down on the table in front of him, and Eren barely looked up at him.

Annoyed, Levi delivered a quick and harsh kick under the table to the kids shin. Eren audibly yipped, receiving stares from people around them who questioned their behavior. Levi was completely cognizant of them, but he didn't care. He was going to get answers, whether Eren liked it or not.

"Give me your notebook." Levi commanded and pointed to the little blue book in Eren's lap. Eren didn't need to hear him to know what he meant though, handing it over to him willingly, along with the pen he had a death grip on. _"Okay, first I want to know why you tried to walk off."_ He wrote down and gave Eren his pen back.

_"I thought you wanted me to leave?"_

_"What did I do to make you think that?" _Levi asked. Eren faltered, his eyes falling to the table while his cheeks and ears turned red._ "Kid, I get it, okay? I'm old enough to get the whole teenage thing. I did it once or twice."_

Seeing Eren's lips twitch with a smile was comforting, a sensation Levi hadn't felt since the last time he saw him. He didn't think Eren had gotten under his skin that much, but he was obviously wrong.

All of this just proved it.

_"Eren, pay attention, okay? I don't like repeating myself." _Levi wrote. For the first time that day, Eren's eyes met his and stayed there. Eren was giving him his full attention, and somehow that took Levi by surprise. He didn't think that would happen, so now that he had Eren's attention, what was he supposed to do? He had been planning to force the information into the brunette's head, but that was because he thought that Eren wouldn't listen.

Knowing that Eren was listening was actually unnerving... Somehow.

_"Eren..."_ Levi's hand stilled, trying to think of how he wanted to say this. He knew, no matter how he explained himself, he'd come out sounding childish. The trick was to figure out how to say what he wanted to say and sound the least but like a kid. _"You understand why I left, right?"_

Eren nodded his head, his lips forming a thin line. Levi offered him his pen back, and Eren took it with a shaking hand.

_"You said you didn't want to come between me and my family." _At the words, Levi shook his head, a sigh leaving his thin lips. He pulled his own pen out from his pocket and began writing, feeling Eren's eyes on him the entire time.

_"No, do you understand? Eren, your family is important to you. They're your only family, and that doesn't change. You can't say stuff like that to your sister, because she may not be there tomorrow." _Eren was a child, so of course he didn't want to listen to reason. When he looked away, an obvious sign of his stubbornness, Levi kicked him again under the table._ "I'm serious, Eren."_

_"She's so annoying."_ Eren relented.

_"It doesn't matter. Would you rather have her not care at all, even if something bad were to happen to you?" _Levi asked, his eyes narrowed with a serious expression. Eren seemed taken aback by the question, eyes widening and curious about the statement

He had never thought of it that way, had he?

_"I..." _Eren wrote down, but then stopped. He really hadn't thought about it at all, and the stillness of his pen proved it.

_"Eren, she's your family. I won't get in the way of that." _With the finishing of his words, Eren's eyes fell to his lap, his pen hanging loosely in his fingers. It was only then that Levi realized that Eren had taken that into his own words. He had read something totally different, and although it was partially true, Levi knew.

He knew he couldn't stay away.

_"Sorry..."_ Eren wrote.

_"Eren,"_ Levi began and kicked at Eren's shin once more. The yip that escaped him was louder, alerting Levi that he kicked in the same spot. With an annoyed and pointed glance at Levi with gold eyes, the older man continued to write. _"I still want to be your friend though."_

He felt like such a child for using such words. He felt like this was some kindergarten playtime with two five year olds, and he was nowhere near five. However, the look that formed on Eren's face, the vivid happiness that shined in his big, golden eyes was almost laughable. Levi could have smiled at how happy Eren suddenly was just by this small piece of information.

"Eh...?" Eren sounded out while his eyes moved from the words in the notebook to Levi himself.

_"Eren, I told you that I liked you. You're a good kid, and I like hanging out with you."_ Looking up, Levi saw a small smile spread Eren's lips into a wide grin. He was truly happy to hear all of this, and knowing that Levi was able to make the kid smile like it was Christmas was extremely gratifying. _"Besides, even with Hanji at the bookstore, it's still too fucking quiet. It gets boring when you and Arlert aren't there."_ He added with a smirk.

Eren laughed, his head turning away for a moment. Levi scarcely saw the sight of tears lining the kid's eyes, making them glassy and red. He sighed while waving his hand to catch the brunette's attention. When Eren managed a small, timid look up to the older man, Levi reached forward and brushed his finger under his eye. Eren chuckled under his breath, wiping at the other eye to hide the tears he knew were welling up.

"Stupid kid..." Levi mumbled under his breath, but he didn't want the comment taken into heart.

He was happy to have Eren back.


End file.
